Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kim Gyuvin, 21 years old, second year at the prestigious Seoul National University, Business Administration major, massively in love with Shen Ricky, is the eldest son of a family of– Wait. Hold on. Something’s not right…

Ahem, again. Kim Gyuvin, 21, second year Business Administration major at Seoul National University, crazy in love with Shen Ricky and.. oh. Well?

It all started during his freshman year, one the most formative experiences a young adult could have. He’s standing in the middle of the main gate square on campus, lost in the crowd of fellow, frantic freshmen and experienced seniors. Utter chaos.

It’s to no one’s surprise that he’s immediately lost, unsure of what to think of the situation. He’s glad to be away from his previous school, one where he had no friends at all, or rather, friends who stuck around. Gyuvin’s about to commit to the oath of an extrovert, one where he solemnly swears to be a terminal pathological people-pleaser, before he is interrupted by a person bumping into him from behind.

His backpack rustles loudly with his school essentials as he fumbles forward, clumsily managing to regain his balance. Gyuvin’s first instinct is to sharply turn around, apology right on the tip of his tongue and–

He freezes.

Gyuvin locks eyes with an elegant and stylish man, one whose face looks as if it was carved to honor a god. Tall, blonde, beautiful, with broad shoulders and in an all-black, sleek leather outfit. He’s surprised, accustomed to having to bend his head slightly downwards to face eye-to-eye with a person. Damn, he’s tall… and hot.. and..

He didn't realize his mouth was slightly agape until he caught Adonis-incarnate staring at him with wide eyes. ‘Wow, his eyes look like 500 won coins..’ he thought, weirdly enough.

“Um..” They paused. “I’m.. uh, sorry?” The person stammered, flustered by his intense staring, the words coming out clumsily with a slight, yet cute foreign accent. They tilt their head sideways slightly, eyes displaying a sense of confusion and amusement simultaneously.

With how they’re just standing in a bustling crowd like rocks in a river, the two catch some heads, most of which are probably mistaking it as a commotion on the first day. Gyuvin feels his muscles recovering their motor skills, the idea of being the center of attention in a negative light deeply worrying him.

“Oh.” Shoot. Had he really been staring? “.. uh, no worries.” He awkwardly let out, smiling wearily as he lightly bows. The other bows back, a small smile on their lips as they disappeared into the congregation of people, somehow still standing out in the midst of countless students.

That was their first encounter.. and last (for now, he’d like to think). Unfortunately for Gyuvin, the man left quite an impression on him, one that only started to grow fonder and fonder as the semester progressed. As wise men once said, ‘distance makes the heart grow fonder.’ The blonde quickly became the subject of most – if not all – of his tweets on his private Twitter account, constantly thinking about the other. And with some intensive research (stalking), he stumbled across the beautiful stranger’s Instagram account by chance (or fate ?). 

Said beautiful stranger’s name is Ricky, Shen Ricky of the Fashion department. Which, checks out; Chic get-up, an attractive, almost magnetic aura, and a sharp yet approachable disposition. Ricky’s profile page was nothing short of perfection, each photo deliberate and curated to have an aesthetic vibe. His profile was the kind you’d expect from celebrities, and the blonde’s followers made it seem like he was: About 100k followers, he learns Ricky is a part-time model, and wow, does he look good in these promotional brand teases. 

Gyuvin’s not quite thinking when he presses the follow button, the decision dawning on him right after. Shit. He pauses, a likely thing for him to do, before realizing it should mean nothing. Ricky seems to only follow the brands he models for, except for a select few, who Gyuvin presumes to be his friends. He sighs in relief, with 100k followers and 9 following, he should just slide under the radar.

..

That was, until a random Thursday morning, a day after his mishap. 8 AM, eyes blinking in drowsiness behind glasses as he stares and types in notes into a laptop for marketing. A barely audible notification diverts his attention to his phone mid-lecture. He eyed the notification that, in hindsight, seemed so unlikely and impossible for a man like him.

Instagram                                9h

@shenricky started following you

Oh.

Oh.

‘What an interesting turn of events,’ he feigned nonchalance. In reality, his ears are red and now unable to process the words his professor is yapping about, fingers now glued to the phone as his eyes try to discern for any fallacies in the notification.

It seems legit. The profile’s the same, the picture is too, same iconic username with a verification mark next to it. To quote a legend; “What the fuck is going on in here on this day?”

Before anything, of course, he has to update on his private account with 0 followers, as any person should.

gyub @gyubbiethoughts 🔒

WHATT THE FUCKKKAWDIQHFUAFHUQF

Anyway,

He’s immediately reminded of how remarkably unremarkable his profile looks in comparison: his profile picture is just him in bed, his profile not as formulated as the other’s, just a bunch of photo dumps of.. about anything. But hey, he thinks it looks lived in, it’s honest, normal, and perfectly him. No shame to user mangyuvin_, that’s his dear son. It’s safe to say he doesn’t retain a single bit of information during the hour spent in that class.. At least he has some notes?

..

Throughout the end of the second semester, he only sees Ricky in passing, which is rather unfortunate, though predictable. He works part-time at an ice cream shop, already immediately cutting more chances to see Ricky on campus. To make things worse, Ricky lives outside dorms, of course, while he’s situated in the school’s dorms with a wonderful roommate; his friend-turned-best-friend from his senior year, Park Gunwook.

Gunwook was probably the only thing keeping him sane in his last year of high school, with how much of a social outcast he was that time. The only time Gyuvin really gets a glimpse of Ricky is in photos, and occasionally, parties. 

The most sick and twisted part of all this is that Ricky and Gyuvin’s respective friend groups are all friends themselves, the two of them separated by one degree. It’s sick, but it goes in his favor. He sees Ricky in their mutuals’ pictures, and if he really was that desperate, he could go to the parties his friends attend, and by extension, Ricky.

Interactions are sparse, but it’s honest work. Gyuvin longingly admires Ricky from a distance, yearning for a friendship (?) so close yet so far. That is until a fateful Monday morning.

..

From the moment Kim Gyuvin stood under the shower head, he knew something was amiss. The water pressure wasn’t as intense as it was previously. It wasn’t the slightly cold showers he had come to tolerate over the long years he had spent on campus dorms (though he’s only a second year student). The water was warm, the pressure just right, where he felt oddly relaxed under the stream of water. Almost too relaxing for a Monday school morning. Something as trivial as water shouldn’t be so alarming to him, and Gyuvin was no superstitious person by any means. It was just.. peculiar. 

By the time lunch rolls around, Gyuvin has accepted that Lady Luck was on his side for that day. For what reason? He couldn’t tell you. All he knows is that thus far, everything’s looking up, with no sign of an abrupt downward slope. That morning, not only was the shower ‘showering,’ but the toast was perfectly crisp and golden brown, the weather breezy and cold in all the right ways, just the way he likes it. The accumulation of all these fortunate circumstances lead him to feel lighter, walking with a pep in his step, and with the smile of a girl who’s going to be okay. These minor details in his day may seem insignificant to others, but for an impoverished, struggling-to-get-by, boy-failure university student, it was a refuge. 

Seoul National University’s campus seemed to be lively that day, at least in the Business department building. Gyuvin finishes his tediously uneventful classes for the day and loiters around, not really having any direction on what to do now. He ponders to himself, quiet and brief, before skipping towards the fashion design lab with a small smile on his face. Upon reaching an all-too-familiar hallway, he slowed in his steps. Gyuvin cautiously looks around for a certain person, standing out like the 6 footer he is, the glass walls displaying everybody except the one he wants to see the most. He hangs around for a bit, albeit awkwardly, before leaving after no sign of this person’s appearance.

Unfortunately, for a day so fortunate, time sure flew by. Soon enough, Gyuvin found himself in front of a familiar apartment complex. He lets out a content sigh, as if all his worries melt like lemon drops, as if he accomplished anything meaningful that day. Just as Gyuvin grabs the door handle, feeling the stainless steel in his hands, an eerie sense of foreboding hits him in full force. His unease isn’t helped when he opens the door to his shared apartment with his best friend of two years, Gunwook, a notable shut-in and anti-social, only to find said man to be missing. Odd. Peculiar, even.

“Wooks, you home?” He is, of course, met with silence. Shrugging it off, Gyuvin takes off his backpack and mindlessly slings it onto the kitchen counter, dawdling down the hallway and into his room. Even in the comfort of his bed, he can’t seem to shake the uneasiness in his thoughts, though he supposes it makes sense after such a strong start for the day. Whatever , he thinks, the foreboding evil curse that will inevitably ruin the rest of his day can wait until he has a long and peaceful nap, at the appropriate time of 4:50 in the afternoon. 

But of course, before he slumbers, he must document his daily life, as all people do. He types out something quickly, carelessly pressing ‘Post’ before diving head-first into his bed. All is well.

…

All is not, in fact, well. 

The incessant notifications, accompanied by the glaringly bright blue light of his phone were enough to force a tired Gyuvin’s eyes open. His head incessantly ached, raising a hand to He blinks away his drowsiness, groggily sitting up to check the time on the clock. Except, he can’t quite see with the blurriness of his freshly awoken senses. He squints, before he realizes he might as well be nearsighted right now, and checks the time on his phone: 5:51 PM. 

He lifts his left arm, looks around his room, and forgets the time. Did he really nap for just an hour? Somehow it felt as if he slept for a whole night. Gyuvin stretches, an act that should’ve given his bones relief, but instead physically implodes and shatters all the bones in his spine.

Ding!

What the hell? He flinches, a notification from his phone breaking him from his daze. A message from Gunwook on KakaoTalk. Little did Gyuvin know it would be the worst notification of his life. 

DA BOYZ

gunWOKE: dude.. real or fake?

child: 😨

muscledaddy69: 🤨🎤🎤

mang(yu)o: bro what??

He’s quick to reply, fingers brushing over the virtual keyboard on his phone. What happens next is bone chilling… Top 10 moments before disaster.

gunWOKE: you?? ricky??? you like shen ricky from fashion??

mang(yu)o: WHATATWA THEFUCK

World stop. What? What.

Huh? Gyuvin stands up in a daze, phone falling from his hand onto the bed. Blankly staring at the wall, as if an invisible camera were there recording his demise. His jaw visibly drops as he continues to stare at said wall. How the hell did his friends know? This is so embarrassing, he thinks. It’s not like he’s the only one competing for the Shen Ricky’s heart and attention. And certainly not the first to crush on him. Although, Gyuvin thinks ‘competing’ is a bit of an extreme word. He’s simply admiring, as he says to himself. 

He knows a man liking another man isn’t normal, or generally accepted in Korea, at least. Despite that fact, Gyuvin can’t help but anticipate every time the man’s tall and poised figure comes into view. Look forward to all the slim chances of bumping into each other at a college party, parties he only attends because he knows Ricky will attend. 

Their interactions often are the highlights of Gyuvin’s day, albeit short and spontaneous. It shouldn’t come to a surprise that Gyuvin slowly fell for Ricky, after all, the heart wants what it wants. He isn’t infatuated per se, but he definitely has a teenage girl type of crush. The kind where he kicks his legs back and forth as he scrolls through Ricky’s posts. 

The two know each other from mutual friends; one degree of separation, but never had a connection deeper than that. Gyuvin had hoped that he could change that, step over the moat around Ricky’s circle, to be let in the castle with tall and thick walls. But, oh well.

Oh.

Wait. He thinks. If his whole friend group knows, who else does? Full stop. Alarms, sirens, red warning signs, ominous tones. After that revelation, his priority is to clasp his hands together, look up, and pray to the higher beings in the sky. The divine message coming in the form of another text from the group chat.

hambeen: you there gyub?

gunWOKE: respond now!!

OLDIE: what’s going on

Gyuvin stared at the message, scrutinizing the screen as if he were willing it to explode in an outburst of flames. He responds shortly.

mang(yu)o: No, it isn’t true.

gunWOKE: wtf y r u typing like that

mang(yu)o: I’m here to dispel the false and defamatory rumors regarding me and Shen Ricky of the Fashion department.

OLDIE: 😟

mang(yu)o: I have no romantic affiliation with the man, who buys boba at around 2:30 PM in the afternoon after his 4th class, which is Contemporary Fashion Trends, a class on his Wednesday schedule.

gunWOKE: right.. right…. and you know this how?

muscledaddy69: 😁

hambeen: matt…..

mang(yu)o: Mr. Park Gunwook of dorm 510, how many of our beloved classmates have heard of these hearsays? 

child: not the full government name.. 

mang(yu)o: …

mang(yu)o: GUYS IDK WHAT TO DO DOES EVERYBODY KNOW?? DO YOU HATE ME FOR LIKING MEN I CANT DO THIS ANYOMREO!! 😭😭😭😭

mang(yu)o: BUT U GOTTA UNDERSTAND HES SO CUTE AND ENDEARING THE WAY HIS INVISIBLE CAT EARS RISE WITH INTEREST WHEN HE SEES A DRAMA HE LIKES AND

gunWOKE: alr bro ENOUGH OF THIS! BE QUIET!!!!

mang(yu)o: AND HES SO ARGHHH!!

mang(yu)o: okay.. just tell me now.. how bad is it. lords.. please please please.. 😢

gunWOKE: okay seobaerin-ah carpenter js check the gc

gunWOKE: and for the record idgaf if u like men i was js surprised

muscledaddy69: live laugh love men 💗

hambeen: there’s nothing wrong with being LGBT!

OLDIE: 🌈🏳️‍🌈

mang(yu)o: 😢 thank u guys.. love yall…..

child: all my hyungs gay.

gunWOKE: GOOD LUCK!! (love u too bro)

With new found (and quickly lost) vigor and an imaginary military cap, he’s ready for combat. Judging from his friends’ reaction, it didn’t seem as dire as he thought it’d be. Gyuvin warily eyes the ‘9+’ that shows on his notifications, which quickly escalate to 99+ notifications, all stemming from the batch group chat. That is.. alarming. Fuck!

He opens the KakaoTalk chatroom with bated breath and a concerningly shaking hand. At first glance, it looked like a normal and riveting conversation, with various people laughing and joking around, it was almost hard to keep up with the rate the messages were coming in. Gyuvin almost lets out a sigh of relief before somebody replies to an awfully familiar screenshot.

Theheee: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

gyuvin ☆ ! @kimgyuvin_

didnt see loml today.. ricky 💔 our children are waiting…..

Gyuvin’s heart sank. What the fuck? He had sworn he posted it on his private account. Shame and humiliation flooded his mind, making his arms quake. His eyes led him to the replies under the message.

beeeadd: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 

kasdf: bro what is this LOL @kimgyuvin

woajAF: wtf ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Worst of all, upon long-pressing on the screenshot, it read three terrifying words: seen by shenricky . That was it. Maybe his fatal mistake was ever being alive in this godforsaken world in the first place, he solemnly thinks. In the near future, this dark moment in Gyuvin history was henceforth dubbed ‘The Incident™.’ With all the chatter and rapid messages, it isn’t long until a resigned Gyuvin hovers over the magic button.

kimgyuvin has left the chatroom.

…….

…….

Gyuvin simply stares at his phone screen, which has powered off due to its inactivity. There’s almost nothing going on in his brain, just quietly resigning into his fate. It takes him a few minutes of mental processing and sorting out his feelings before he takes his next action: dropping his face head first into a pillow and screaming his heart out. FML.

“ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!” His neighbors definitely heard that.

He gets up, aggressively paces around his room as he hysterically tries to make excuses why he’d even send those messages to some ‘friends’ he thought he could trust. The same jerks who ratted him out. He scoffs to himself, punching the air like some retired boxer turned mental institute escapee. Suddenly, a notification breaks through his self-imposed rampage. He immediately rushes over back to his bed, where his phone was haphazardly thrown, barely hanging on to the edge of his bed frame. Gyuvin pauses for a bit, pondering who could be texting him right after The Incident™. The phone’s blue light shined brightly in the dim-lit room, displaying a notification from his friends’ group chat once again.

gunWOKE: dude r u okay???

gunWOKE: u js left the gc

hambeen: gyubbie it’s okay 🙁

child: wait whats going on

muscledaddy69: no wtf whats their problem

muscledaddy69: gyub didnt even do anything bad??

OLDIE: Oh.. i just saw..

mang(yu)o: 👍

gyub @gyubbiethoughts 🔒

i wanna kill myself

With that, he shuts off his phone once again and sits there in the darkness of his room. An exact reflection on the state of his mental being. Dark, hopeless, and angry. At this point, he imagines he’s about halfway done with the ‘anger’ stage of grief. 

A while later, he hears the faint sound of the apartment door opening. Gunwook must have just gotten home. It isn’t long until the knocking on Gyuvin’s door starts.

“Gyub, I know you’re in there.” Gunwook’s voice sounds muffled through the door. He soon hears the sound of the door opening, before turning around. Light floods the dark room, with Gyuvin finding himself raising an arm, in an attempt to block out the light. 

A presence, Gunwook, soon approaches him and his bed. 

“Hey, you good? Don’t think about what the others think.” 

“Yeah, yeah. I just need some.. time to process.” It’s embarrassing. The situation quickly escalated to a from a small mishap to a full blown Mean Girls Burn Book Exposing scene, with Gyuvin as the sole victim. It’s embarrassing how much this is affecting him, it seems too juvenile and something that should be below him. 

“If it helps, I brought some wings.” Gunwook silently carried a box in a plastic bag, a brand of chicken wings from downtown, his favorite. Gunwook takes the liberty of sitting next to him on his bed, aiming to provide comfort. Gyuvin registers the smell of the chicken from the restaurant he really liked coming from the kitchen. His heart warms from Gunwook’s gesture, a small smile creeping up his face. 

“Thanks, man.” He feels his spirits rising slowly. “Let’s eat?”

“Sure, let’s get you out of whatever slump you’re in.” Gunwook extends an arm, an invitation, one he takes.

As he gets up from his bed and wanders to the kitchen, the worries on his mind slowly, but surely fade. Though he’d consider the situation fucked, he’s glad he has friends to help ease the burden on his shoulders. It sounds dramatic – because it is, but he can’t help but fluster over how unserious it all is.

Gyuvin takes a seat next to Gunwook, and they decide to eat at the kitchen counter, as if they even have a dining table. Peak broke college boy dorming experience. He wants to say something about the situation, but soon chooses to take a big bite of the wings instead, an excellent way of shutting himself up.

“Good?” 

“Yep.”

“Right…” The silence is a bit awkward, if tense. Gyuvin continues to eat while staring at the closed window, accompanied by the sounds of crunching and utensils. Now that he thinks about it, it’s honestly not that serious. He’s wistful, hopeful almost, that he can handle it all with a smile on his face. Treat the situation as a joke, like how he was treated by his friends. Well..

From next to him, Gunwook clears his throat.

“Uh.. Yes?” Gyuvin twiddles his fingers, looking anywhere but at his best friend. He purses his lips, annoyed at his own silence.

“C’mon man, don’t be a stranger. What’s on your mind?” Gunwook’s thick eyebrows are slightly furrowed, his lips pulled in an almost straight line. 

He tries to muster up the best response he can, the words falling flat and failing on him. “Wait. I’m hashtag thinking.”

“Did you just say hashtag?”

“Yes, now be quiet.”

…

“Wooks.. I’m just.. yeah..” What a wordsmith Kim Gyuvin truly is. In truth, there really are no words he can offer to explain his feelings. He blankly finishes his food, looking around pensively like a deer in headlights. “I like Ricky.” There, he said it, heartfelt and true.

“Yeah, everybody does… and knows.” 

“Keep yourself safe!”

“Right. Well, I’m not going to school to be a therapist, so.. wanna play some Mario Kart?” Gunwook surprisingly drops the fruitless interrogation. Maybe he has realized that Gyuvin’s semi-illiterate and unable to provide a satisfying enough answer as of now. Luckily for Gyuvin, he’s not one to turn down a good game of Mario Kart.

…

Gyuvin turns the knob on his door, lazily walking in. He soon falls flat on his bed, feeling the soft mattress under him. He splays his limbs, arms and legs forming a starfish-like position. This ultimate form of meditating will lead to an effective reflection of the day, he thinks. The games with Gunwook were nice, a welcome distraction and a nice way to end the day. Those games helped him arrive at the conclusion that indifference and nonchalance is the best way to approach this case. Truthfully, he’s already over it in his mind. He’s so over it, in fact, that he pulls out his phone and decides to update his Instagram notes. 

fuck this stupid baka life 💔

           mangyuvin_

Perfect. Short, concise, a perfect summary of how today went. The best message to send – Ultimately, nothing matters, and knowing nothing matters is the best way to dance through life. These people will (hopefully) forget all about this overblown fiasco, and Gyuvin will go back to being the quiet tall kid in Business Administration. Most importantly, Gyuvin can go back to admiring Ricky from far, far away. With no obstacles, just the motivation to live on with a small teenage-girl crush. 

Ding!

A message from his friends. Oh. All that Mario Kart really made him forget how the others were in the dark about the situation.

hambeen: gyub i just want you to know we all love and accept you 💔

OLDIE: People only throw rocks at things that shine, don’t let them get to you, Gyub!

child: hyungg feel better soon 😢

muscledaddy69: ALL OF THEM WILL PAY!!

gunWOKE: now maybe dont mashu hyung..

muscledaddy69: oh.. okay.. hehe..

mang(yu)o: thanks guys 🔥 trust im so over it

hambeen: that’s good!! 

mang(yu)o: yeah.. def need some sleep though

muscledaddy69: ill come over tmr with pancakes ♥️

child: well..

gunWOKE: maybe don’t! 

OLDIE: Good night, Gyuvin 😴

muscledaddy69: NIGHTT!!

hambeen: good night !

child: good night 🙄

muscledaddy69: ♥️

He blinks, slowly finding it harder to keep his eyes open. Gyuvin rolls over to his side, curling up on himself as he makes himself snug and comfortable. His phone is thoughtlessly thrown behind him, on the empty left side of the bed. The drowsiness and grasps of sleep completely block the sound of a notification. 

Instagram                 Now

shenricky liked your note.

…

Kim Gyuvin wakes up, the blinding rays of sunlight pouring into the room. Laying there, staring at the ceiling with a blank expression, he felt an energy. Similar to yesterday’s sunshines-turned-thunder-clouds, today felt.. amiss. Although this time, he feels it right from the get-go, in the comfort of his bed. Something tells him a catastrophic anomaly is nestled within his phone, call it his gut instinct, but he calls it his intuition; an educated guess from remnants of the trauma yesterday brought today. 

For all that, he’s learned his lesson. Gyuvin tosses his blankets to the side as he sits up. He deliberately places his phone on his nightstand, choosing to open the inevitable Pandora’s Box later. He stretches, lazily flexing his body as he stumbles out of his room and into the kitchen. It is then he decides to be the responsible roommate he is. 

A quick glance at the clock in their living room tells him it is approximately 6:30 AM (approximate, because Gyuvin’s clock-reading skills need to be further examined). A perfect time to cook breakfast, he thinks. Yesterday was just a big bad nightmare. Today, he’ll make sure to smile through it all!

..

Cooking went as well as he expected. Average. To translate to modern language, “he tried to cook but got cooked.” To start, he tried to make sunny-side-up eggs, the kind that were crisp on the edges, yet decently cooked on the yolk. Although, the sunny-side-up eggs Gyuvin’s looking at right now doesn’t seem to be very perfect. They look.. passable. Like a sunny-side-up egg. He had a vision, a vision that wasn’t met, but a vision nonetheless.

It evidently is far from the Master Chef meal he was expecting for himself, but he supposes that Gunwook wouldn’t mind. Speaking of, said roommate appeared in the midst of Gyuvin’s not-so-masterful frying, the sound of the oil sparking alarming the other.

“Gyub? Are you cooking..?” Gunwook had said, with a noticeable surprise in his tone. Personally, Gyuvin’s not so sure why there was so much shock in his roommate’s voice, but he digresses. Maybe it’s the fact he’s never seen operating the kitchen, but he’s never been a bad cook. Or.. maybe it is the fact that he’s never been seen operating the kitchen, with no one to back up his cooking skills. 

In the many months he’s lived in school dorms, he has never once cooked on his own. Why would he? He had a perfectly great roommate who knew how to cook. Though, that doesn’t mean he’s hopeless! Gyuvin had had that epiphany during his interaction with Gunwook, and was ready to show him his truth.

Which brings them to the present scene; Gyuvin poking at his eggs and toast, clearly unsatisfied with his work, while the man next to him absent-mindedly enjoys his meal. There’s a peaceful silence that lingers over them, the kind of quiet that defines mornings.

“.. Are they any good?” Gyuvin breaks the silence. 

“Yes? They taste like eggs.” Gunwook looks at him, an eyebrow raised.

“But are they good eggs?” He says it more like rhetoric than an actual question. He’s not so sure why he’s acting insecure about his eggs (what?). 

“Gyub. Respectfully man, they just taste like regular eggs. Nothing wrong with your eggs.” 

“Wow, okay.” Gyuvin scoffs dramatically, sharply turning back to his own meal, finishing it with a clack of his utensils. “How’d you like it if your eggs got called regular?” He snarkily retorts.

“Woah there.. Now, that’d never happen to me because I’m a great cook.” Gunwook matter-of-factly replies. It infuriates Gyuvin, but had no clap back against his evidence. “Why so defensive? I said your eggs are fine..” Gunwook said after a beat of silence.

“....” Gyuvin went nonverbal, unsure of what to respond with. He’s about to open his mouth before the other beats him to it.

“You tryna wife Ricky up?” The question hits him like a bullet to his brain. It was sudden, targeted, and with malicious intent. Since the events of last night, they had silently agreed to avoid the topic and continue their gaming as they would any other day. It seems the peace treaty has been severed. Gyuvin will wage war. Worst of all, Gunwook replaced his usual gummy smile with a smug one, looking at Gyuvin with self-satisfaction at his own joke. Prick.

“Oh.. oh, okay… Well..” It took him a beat too long to respond. Gyuvin was, to say the least, truly gagged. He supposes Gunwook wasn’t wrong, perhaps he does want to seem boyfriend-able to Ricky (assuming he still even has a chance), but what was that about?! 

“I mean.. judging from your reaction and lack of response..” Little did Gyuvin know, Gunwook’s joking and teasing questions were only one of many to come. It was safe to say Gyuvin jabbed Gunwook’s sides after that response, unrelenting to the other’s yelps of mercy. He was not one to be trifled with. 

..

On the walk to university, he’s decided to open his inescapable demise. Whatever it was, it has never left Gyuvin’s mind for that very long hour he spent getting ready. He’s not even sure if anything happened, though.. with him dramatically leaving the batch group chat, something should happen. 

His phone lit up, in response to him pressing the power button. Surprisingly, his notifications looked normal; news, Instagram, some messages from concerned friends. Wait.. Hold on.

Instagram           9 hours ago

shenricky liked your note.

Oh shit. What? That’s.. surprising, though he’s more disturbed with how oddly composed he feels at the moment. Despite that, the notification did bring a few questions in mind. Did he do it on purpose or was it a misclick? Shen Ricky isn’t and has never been the type to interact, whether it be a post or story, let alone for someone like Gyuvin. Heck, it’s already a miracle he’s mutuals (or mooties) with Ricky.

Additionally, what was his intention with this interaction? Judging from how Ricky had seen the incriminating screenshot from The Incident™, it could either be malicious or humorous. Though, he’d like to give Ricky the benefit of the doubt.

…

Yeah, who was he kidding?

In actuality, the moment Kim Gyuvin saw the notification, he jumped up, almost fumbling the phone out of his hands. The entire population of Rickyville (consisting of just him) is clapping and cheering, a celebration in order! He recovered from his mini-tumble, silently squealing to himself as he opened the notification on Instagram, checking if it's real over and over. Gyuvin lightly slapped himself on the cheek, not believing the sight beheld. 

fuck this stupid baka life 💔

           mangyuvin_

♥️ shenricky                   💬

Holy shit. 

“LET’S GOOO!!” Gyuvin’s sudden yell definitely turned some heads. Some weird student screaming on school plaza grounds in the morning, what a reputation he’s built for himself. Gyuvin really couldn’t help the feeling of giddiness coursing within him. It’s evident in his blinding smile, every step feeling like it bloomed flowers from underneath.

Gyuvin skipped through the sidewalk, a floral aura radiating throughout his body. This didn’t last for long. The moment he stood in front of the modern triangular gate of Seoul National University, his mental atmosphere took a 360. Today, on the 29th day of May, he embarks on a great journey to survive an even greater war. Game face: on.

He walks at a brisk pace, passing a few department buildings and into the unnecessarily large roads that seem to continue endlessly. Seriously, who decided to make this campus so gigantic? A walk to each department building is essentially a workout and a half.He garners a few odd glances towards him, the sharp stares slightly prickling at his back. No doubt a result of The Incident™ spreading its influence. Nothing too dire to worry about so far, he supposes.

Gyuvin lets his legs guide him through the familiar surroundings of large modern buildings and the small steps leading towards them. It isn’t long before he’s face-to-face with Building No. 59-1, the Business Administration department building. He lets out a deep sigh, lowering his head as he passes by familiar faces, the faces of which have not forgotten the incident the previous day. 

It is in the Business Administration building where he gets the most attention, the teasing, yet judgmental type. His tall and lanky figure doesn't help in drawing more eyes as he towers over the heads in the hallway.

From an outside perspective, this whole situation is out-of-proportion. In hindsight, Gyuvin should’ve never underestimated the boredom of gossiping young adults, especially in such a mundane course like Business Administration; where your degree is only as useful as your connections. The Incident™ has no business being this much of a smash hit, chart dominating, global sensating comeback, something that will definitely go on his résumé. Gyuvin rushes inside the lecture hall, head hung low and legs in a mini-sprint. 

 He sits down, immediately hearing hushed whispers in a sad attempt of discretion. 

“Isn’t that the guy?”

“Kim Gyuvin? What about him?”

“Like on Kakao, y’know? It was kinda funny-”

“Ohh.. Wait! The one who posted about Ri..” The background chatter starts to fade into white noise. Gyuvin clenches his fists to the table as he feels a growing shame build within him, most likely looking like a loner, staring into nothing with a blank table while others are preparing their notes and laptops. 

He doesn’t really have friends in Business Administration, his friends scattered around the departments. Gyuvin was a natural born-extrovert, he was approachable, bubbly, and loved to please others.. to an almost excessive degree. He’s not sure what it was, but college just wasn’t cooperating with his ‘making friends’ agenda. Maybe everybody was just too cool for him.

It was an honest mistake, really. He had meant that tweet for his private account, his drowsiness from that time most probably causing it. 

Gyuvin really doesn’t want to have a panic attack in front of everybody–or worse, cry, but he truly hates being stared at like an outsider. All he can do is try to ignore the chatter, even if it wasn’t about him, it never included him. He knows people, but people don’t tend to want to know him. Stereotype him to be a typical sunny guy, the kind that’s fun for a few weeks before they lose their shine. 

He faintly hears more murmurs before the professor steps in the room, effectively shutting the idle chatter within the lecture hall. Gyuvin sighs in relief, raising his head as he fixes his posture and takes out his laptop. 

..

Class went as well as expected. A mix of annoyance and peace, where Gyuvin knows he’s the topic of conversation while being relatively left untouched. The good thing about this generation, he thinks, is that nobody has the guts to talk shit to his face. Not to be a Debby Downer, but Gyuvin doesn’t think lunch could get any worse. Spoiler: it does (depends on how one looks at it).

The sound of the bell rings sharp throughout the lecture hall, he’s been dismissed from his final morning class. Gyuvin slings his messenger bag across his chest, neck bent as he adjusts the straps. He takes one last survey of his surroundings, to ensure he hasn’t forgotten something, before quickly trying to fade in the crowd. Navigating the packed hallway, Gyuvin slowly arrived at the exit of his department building, walking towards the school cafeteria. 

It was loud. Normally, Gyuvin wouldn’t be bothered. In fact, he’s usually the cause of the noise in a room. This time, he’s forced to sit down at some table in a far corner, scrutinizing and looking at the friend groups’ chatter like some bitter loner. It doesn’t help that he’s staring at his phone as if he got stood up on a date.

DA BOYZ

mang(yu)o: where r u guys 💔

gunWOKE: coming, prof was yappin a whole lotta nothing :/

hambin: gyubb! will be there in a min

hambin: im right outside 

mang(yu)o: hurry 🙁 i look like a fucking loner loser

child: you arent??

mang(yu)o: 🖕

OLDIE: 😂

mang(yu)o: GO BACK TO READING YOUR NEWSPAPER POPS

OLDIE: Oh.. 😢

muscledaddy69: whats 4 lunch today

muscledaddy69: some chicken mayhaps? 🥰

mang(yu)o: COME HERE AND FIND OUT 😡

A finger taps on his shoulder. Startled, he swiftly looks over to his right: it was Sung Hanbin, his best friend; one of the only people who manages to tolerate him in college. Gyuvin’s face lights up immediately, getting up from his seat to give a big hug. 

“Easy there bud, what’s up with you?” Hanbin chuckles, returning the hug and patting Gyuvin on the back. They separate, Hanbin sliding into the chair next to Gyuvin. The table they were sitting at was a 6-seater, with 3 seats on two sides. 

“Hyung, my life is over..” He whines, arms splaying out on the table, head resting between them. Gyuvin turns his head to face Hanbin, a pathetic pout on his face. Hanbin stays silent, right eyebrow raised as if to ask for more context.

“Don't you remember..? You know.. The..”

“The..?”

“Hey guys!” Matthew abruptly shouts out, suddenly appearing in the chair opposite to Hanbin and Gyuvin. “What’cha talking about?” He asks a bit too loudly, his signature toothy smile on display. 

“Well, Gyuvin here is being awfully cryptic about his situation..” Hanbin side-eyes him, dragging his words to emphasize his curiosity on the matter.

“Is this about how Gyuvin apparently has this really massive crush on Ricky?” Matthew asks innocently. His eyelids fluttered as if he didn’t just crush Gyuvin’s soul.

Gyuvin reaches out to slap a hand over Matthew’s mouth with a scowl on his face. “Hey! Not too loud!”  Gyuvin questioned, exasperated. Hanbin looks to Gyuvin, then Matthew, then repeats that cycle for the few seconds in between the other two’s talk. It takes Hanbin a second before his mouth forms into an “O” shape.

“Gyub, c’mon dude! All that happened in the batch chatroom, practically everybody knows now.” Matthew said matter-of-factly. “Also, congrats on coming out a gay– err, or bisexual.. or bi-curious.. To the whole uni too!” Matthew’s words had only struck Gyuvin then. What the hell. No wonder everyone was being excessively weird about it. The stares were to be expected, but Matthew’s last comment really cemented the idea into his brain. 

Hanbin, now processing the situation, having seen the chatroom conversation the previous night, lights up as he reaches a ‘eureka!’ moment. “Gyub-ie, are you okay? I know some people have a very.. negative reaction to queerness..” Hanbin says slowly, as if approaching a kitten that may run at any moment. 

“... Yeah, I’m fine. But hyung, it’s not that bad, really. I left the chatroom before I saw anything suicide-worthy.” Gyuvin tried to reassure Hanbin, his own voice failing him, showing the reluctance in his voice. “Anyway, it’s not like anybody cared.. right?”

“Gyuvin-yah.. people can be really mean..” Hanbin steadily descended, nestling back into his seat. His head hung slightly lower, a regretful tone present. Honestly, it didn’t shock Gyuvin in the slightest, having experienced the scrutiny that morning. 

“Hey, don’t get so down, guys! Who cares what others think? None of us do.” Matthew cheers, referring to their friend group. Matthew never failed to bring the atmosphere back up, his bright and cheery nature an infectious disease.

“True, now I don’t have to worry about coming out.” Gyuvin chuckled, not really meaning his words, but not feeling the despair anyone would feel in that situation. Coming out is a serious and monumental occasion, and to have it spoiled is rough. He’s lucky to have good friends with him, speaking of which.

“So.. Ricky, eh? Not a bad choice.” Matthew cheekily says.

Unable to refute is statement, Gyuvin only flushes and looks away to the side, the cafeteria line suddenly interesting him. Matthew’s teasing him, Hanbin laughing loudly at his side, then he sees him. Even in the midst of a lively cafeteria, that flash of blonde hair, towering with a sleek figure over the others was unmistakable. 

Gyuvin looks back at his friends, hoping that the other didn’t see him. He prays his face doesn’t actually flare up in flames. Before he could panic even further, a shadow looms over Gyuvin, startling him. He looks behind him, seeing Gunwook’s familiar figure. “Wookie!” He gets up to hug Gunwook and pat him on the back. Phew, something to distract him from Ricky’s presence. 

“Hi hyungs!.. And Gyuvin.” Gunwook greeted, his last statement earning a ‘yah!’ and a light slap from Gyuvin. Gunwook sat beside Matthew, who were on the opposite side of Hanbin and Gyuvin. It was a bit awkward, with one seat free on each side. Seats usually reserved for their very busy fourth year hyung and.. a future freshman (who has yet to graduate their senior year).

“Finally, dude. Been itchin’ to get some food!” Matthew stood up, waiting for the others to join him to get a meal. As people do in cafeterias. “I saw chicken earlier, c’mon!!”

“Chill, Matt. I just got here..” Gunwook whined, not wanting to abandon his seat (that he has occupied for approximately 10 seconds). Something tells Gyuvin that Gunwook didn’t mind at all… much to think about.

Matthew smiled. “Aww, don’t worry about it, Wooks! I’ll get you food too!” He said sweetly, the flowers practically flying around them. Gyuvin faked a gag. 

“Get a room will ya?!” Gyuvin protested, continuously pretending to choke on air. Hanbin laughs beside him, Gunwook following his laughs soon after. He, Hanbin, and Gyuvin stand up and start standing in a short queue for food, with Hanbin leading, followed by Matthew, and with Gyuvin at the back of their line.

“What was that?” Gyuvin laughed. “ ‘Aww, Wookiebear, I’ll get you some food too!’ Like dude!” He guffawed, a little too loudly, causing some heads to turn their way. He purses his lips to shut himself up. 

“Ughh! Shut up!” Matthew groaned, a light blush creeping into his face. Sweet, sweet revenge. He mischievously smiles to himself.

“Tryna be all cute for Gunwook, like what!?” Gyuvin playfully slaps Matthew’s back. Eliciting another groan out of embarrassment. He thinks it’s funny, how Matthew and Gunwook have been friends for so long, yet fail to act or realize the chemistry between them. 

Hanbin smiles when he turns to look at them, before turning his head to the left, where the tables are seated – seemingly perking up at the sight of somebody, who Gyuvin quickly identifies as Hanbin’s long-term boyfriend, Zhang Hao.

Gyuvin stilled. Standing next to Hao is Shen Ricky himself, in all his young & rich, tall & handsome glory. He quickly looked away, pretending to busy himself with how appetizing the cafeteria food looked. He should’ve been more cautious, it’s a little known fact, really; wherever Zhang Hao goes, Ricky is sure to follow, vice versa.. The two are inseparable, practically attached at the hip. 

He had really thought he was imagining Ricky at the cafeteria earlier.

“Ooh, here’s your man, Gyub!” Matthew teases, quickly getting into his space. Damn it. What goes around really does come around, karma biting him in the ass right this moment. 

“Don’t. Pretend I’m not here.” Gyuvin muttered, trying to shrink into himself. He feels his friends knowing eyes on him, a plotting smile probably on their faces. “Is he looking?” He asks, panicked. His heart was racing, as it usually did in Ricky’s presence, although now, it was more out of anxiety than giddiness. Hiding was futile, he was the tallest in their group after all.

“Baobei!” Hanbin waved, loudly calling for his boyfriend, which brought the two Chinese mens’ attention to their line. Gyuvin cursed to himself, urging Matthew to get his and Gunwook’s food quickly, seeming as their precious friend had already gotten his food in a rush to talk to his lover, essentially foregoing their friendship, Gyuvin thinks. 

Matthew and Gyuvin got their food, the latter unsettled. What’s scaring him is the odd glint in the other’s eyes, a foreboding sign of mischief in Matthew language. He had barely even made it to their table before Matthew speedily put him and Gunwook’s tray on the table, skipping back over to Hanbin, who was happily chatting with Ricky and Hanbin. Oh shit.

“Heyy guys! Wanna join us for lunch?” Gyuvin hears Matthew excitedly ask Hao and Ricky. His heart drops, this is betrayal to the highest degree. From his best friend , no less. ‘Please don’t say yes, please don’t say yes..!’ Gyuvin chants the mantra in his mind, praying to avoid any more awkward situations. 

“Sure. As long as I’m sitting next to my Binnie~” Hao had said. His castle crumbled, life flashing before his eyes. Gyuvin considered him and Hao to have a decently close friendship, being Haobin’s illegitimate child, but he might start reevaluating that after lunch. 

Gyuvin, using his superior critical-thinking skills, decides to steal Matthew’s seat beside Gunwook, the other confused at his antics. This way, it would be Gunwook, Gyuvin, and Matthew (who was relocated to his side instead of next to Gunwook) on the left side. With Hanbin having to sit with Ricky and Hao!

It truly was a foolproof plan, he thinks proudly of himself. Plus, he punishes Matt for his evil-doings, by not allowing him the pleasure of sitting next to his Gunwook.

Matthew, being the little shit he is, notices with an angry look too cute to pass as angry. The shorter man flashed him a glare, slowly transforming into a sly smile. Oh no, a counterattack. Should he be worried?! Matthew sits opposite of Gunwook, immediately crashing Gyuvin’s plans to the ground. Wait.. Gyuvin thought for a bit, realizing how the arrangement would end up as.

Hao and Ricky get to the table with their trays. “Bin-hyung, do you wanna sit next to me?” Gyuvin asked, almost pleadingly. Hanbin makes a skeptical face, before his thinking is interrupted.

“Nope! Bin’s sitting with me.” Hao cheerily said. Gyuvin’s world ends. Hanbin traitorously breathes a sigh of relief. Gyuvin’s seriously thinking over all their years of friendship, Gunwook also charged guilty for his nonchalance and inaction. 

The seating arrangement is now like this: On the right side, Matthew, Hao, and Hanbin. Which leaves only one seat, the one next to Gyuvin. This is exactly what he was afraid of. Before he could fully process the devastating news, a light dusty smell of sandalwood and vanilla overcame him. He flushes, realizing Ricky is standing right next to him, he recognizes Ricky’s scent, his signature cologne that compliments his sharp looks.

“Mind if I sit here..?” Ricky’s deep, yet soft-spoken voice sends Gyuvin’s heart into overdrive. His tone carried a sense of amusement and apprehensiveness, Ricky being known for being a tried and true pure introvert. Of course, they had interacted before, but had never been as close as they will be now. 

“S-sure.. “ He blurts out like a loser. He shifts his chair slightly away to give space for Ricky to sit down. Gyuvin doesn’t miss his friends’ knowing looks. Ricky sat down, placing his tray in front of him as he sat with perfect and impeccable posture. 

Unfaithfully, Gunwook pushes his chair to go closer to Ricky’s, loudly proclaiming: “Man, give me some space.” Dickhead. Treason. Treason of the highest degree! They will all pay.

With their close proximity,, he swears he’s light-headed from Ricky’s scent and adrenaline. It shouldn’t be this serious for him, but Rickyville has only survived through rare Ricky sightings alone, he’s unsure whether to be ecstatic or terrified right now. 

Ricky, seemingly oblivious to Gyuvin’s internal dilemma, picks up his chopsticks and starts to eat. Which reminds Gyuvin to do the same. Does Ricky know about The Incident™?  He randomly thought. A thought that was quickly dismissed to the back of his brain, deemed too dark to think right now. He’ll know when he’ll know.

A casual conversation looms over the table, Gunwook and Matthew happily talking about their day from their opposite sides of the table, while Hao and Hanbin (which will henceforth formally be abbreviated to ‘Haobin’) were feeding each other sickeningly. This situation is fucked, he thinks. Gyuvin and Ricky sat and continued to eat in awkward silence, the latter outwardly not minding the peace and quiet. 

Though, Gyuvin did. He definitely minded the silence, but could not muster up the courage to start a conversation. Thankfully (?) Hanbin, who sat across from Gyuvin, spoke up. “Ricky-yah, this is Gyuvin! I dunno if you know him personally, but he’s a nice guy.” Hanbin said, as if he was promoting Gyuvin to be this super-boyfriend.

“Gyub-ie’s like an overgrown puppy!” Hao chimed in. When Gyuvin made no reaction, Hao’s voice made a dramatic dark turn. “Gyuvin.. You’re like an overgrown puppy.. right?” Gyuvin froze.

“Y-yes!! Everyone calls me a puppy.” He shakily lets out, embarrassing himself further. Gyuvin feels like a punching bag being thrown back-and-forth in between two fighters.

“Good.. Know your place.” Hao leans in to ruffle Gyuvin’s hair from across the table, Gyuvin just having his head hung low. He must look so pathetic right now, being actively treated as a promotion material in front of his crush by his two parental figures. All while Matthew and Gunwook attempt to hold their laughter, cheeks puffing up like stupid ass hamsters.

“Oh.. um, I guess I’ve seen Qubing-ssi around.” Ricky muttered, trailing off as he got quieter after every word, he thinks he likes this new pronunciation of his name. Hao gives Ricky a stern look. The man abruptly clears his throat in response. “I mean.. Ahem, hi. I’m Shen Ricky, I study Fashion Merchandising.” Ricky said timidly, he didn’t seem to be enjoying this either, is that a good thing.. or a bad thing?

“.. Hello, Ricky.. I’m Kim Gyuvin , we’re the same age, so we should drop the honorifics..!” Gyuvin awkwardly said out of obligation, feeling the heat start to bloom in his cheeks. From the looks of it, either Ricky doesn’t seem to know about The Incident™ or he’s just very good at hiding and selectively hearing Gyuvin, he hopes it’s the former

“Ah.. sure– I mean, yes.” Ricky replied, awkwardly playing with his fingers. Gyuvin looked at him, the way Ricky acts was reminiscent of a timid, shy cat. Cute. What..? Who said that? Not Gyuvin, that’s for sure. Gyuvin sees Haobin cooing at their interaction in his periphery. He will bring wrath upon them someday, he thinks.

..

Before the group knew it, it was already 1:20, just 10 minutes before lunch break ended. Shoot, he still has one last class for his afternoon schedule. He checks his phone for his schedule, before rechecking the time. 

“That’s cute, is that your dog?” A voice re-emerged from his side. He jumped back slightly, recognizing the voice as Ricky, who he forgot was sitting next to him. 

“Oh-.. um, yeah! This is my dog, Eumppappa!” He showed off his lockscreen, which featured Eumppappa, an italian greyhound, looking down while Gyuvin holds her in his arms, snuggling her close to his chest. 

“Eumppappa..?” 

“Yeah, that was my first word as a baby! Isn’t she the cutest? She pretends to not like me, but she acts all affectionate and cute when I bring out the treats– Sorry, um. Did I ramble too much?” That was so embarrassing. Literally who asked? Ricky must think he’s a weirdo.

“Oh. No, it’s okay. It’s good you.. uh.. love your dog a lot.” Man, even Gyuvin cringed (in a good way!) at how Ricky delivered that. His slight Chinese accent showed through Ricky’s fumbling. Though, he never said that it wasn't crazily endearing.

Gyuvin chuckled, checking his belongings before slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder. The others have already continued their chatter, walking out the cafeteria as they keep talking about God knows what. “Well. Uh. It was nice to meet you, Ricky!” 

“Yes.. I’ll.. see you around?” Ricky offered him a small smile. That meant everything to Gyuvin. 

The blonde did a tiny wave with one hand, the other hand holding the strap of his black Birkin 40 bag. Elegant, in true Ricky fashion… Although it’s unclear how his laptop and belongings fit in that bag? 

Gyuvin shouldn’t have found Ricky’s real life self to be so impossibly cute to talk to. He's so.. squishable. He’s almost, no, definitely getting cuteness aggression when he notices the tips of Ricky’s ears turning slightly red; Ricky must be as embarrassed as he is. 

“Yep!” He said, popping the ‘p.’ “See ya!” He walked off, practically soaring with how happy he felt. Gyuvin looked back while walking, smiling at Ricky, who waved again, with his lips slightly curved upwards. This was a win in his books. Gyuvin - 1, Haters - 0.

..

He was practically on Cloud 9 for his last class, his professor’s words practically coming in and out of his ears. Some phenomena cannot be explained, for example: Gyuvin leaving the class with full notes, detailed annotations, and all that pizzazz on the topic, but with no recollection of hearing or experiencing the class itself. He’s not sure what form of spirit possessed him during marketing class, though the same spirit must be the kind to always be smiling, because Gyuvin can’t seem to get rid of that cheekily wide grin on his face. 

It must be what people call the ‘boyfriend buff,’ he thinks (minus the boyfriend part.. but Gyub’s working on it!). The rest of his afternoon flew by, spent smiling from ear-to-ear like Beyoncé Love on Top Pre-chorus, except.. nobody was really asking why he was smiling from ear-to-ear in the first place.

All Gyuvin knows is that a massive weight is off his shoulder, likened to if Sisyphus broke free from his eternal punishment. He still gets teased every so often, but if Ricky didn’t care about his supposed crush, why should he care? Before he knew it, doors were opened, legs were running, and he was back in the refuge of his apartment room. 

Gyuvin faintly hears the sound of Gunwook washing the dishes, accompanied by the tunes of some playlist Gyuvin would often call the ‘softcore e-boy valorant player’ music taste. The kind of playlists that Gyuvin would never stoop as low as to listen to, backed up by his superior music taste and copious amounts of aesthetic Spotify playlists.

 His pride and joy. Heh. Meanwhile, the superior music taste in question being any song or artist Ricky features on his posts. To be fair, he thinks Ricky has a superior taste in anything and everything, though he might be a tiny bit biased.

Gyuvin lays on his front, lightly hugging the pillow nestled underneath his chest as he scrolls through his social media platforms. He mindlessly zooms past his mutuals’ notes, pondering on what he should change his to. Gyuvin is a strong believer of the power of Instagram notes, but he’s not quite ready to part with the one that earned the Shen Ricky’s like. 

A screenshot is taken, or two.. or three. For documentation purposes, of course! All he knows is he’s definitely smiling like an idiot, as he has been the whole afternoon. Whoever his CIA agent would surely be confused by the amount of duplicate screenshots on his phone gallery. Gyuvin flips over, the pillow that once was beneath him flopping to the side as he rests on his back. A notification ping startles him. Ricky posted on his Instagram stories. 

Gyuvin waits a second, wondering if it’s wise to view the story so quickly– is what he should’ve done. Instead, he opened it immediately, liking it before he had even seen nor comprehended the contents of the story. He smiles immediately, despite not knowing what he’s looking at. He blinks. Ricky is the type of person to post with purpose, careful angles, creative designing choices, you get the gist.

He’s looking.. at a picture of a plushie. Specifically, a cat; one that’s presumably of the calico breed, with black and yellow accents around it. He finds it impossibly adorable, eyeing the pale, thin, and long fingers holding the plush. Nope. The fingers are not doing anything to Gyuvin.

The story was captioned with a text at the top verbatim: “this is my child rinini” with no further context to boot. Adding to that, there was no attached music playing in the background of the story. It’s unclear what the goal of the usually deliberate Ricky was with this post, nevertheless, he had Gyuvin grinning and cooing and his plushie. It was supposed to be a 15 second IG story, but he swears that it’s a story longer than 10 minutes. Maybe his Instagram glitched, he’d wager. 

The rest of his night was uneventful, in contrast to his traumatizing morning and explosive afternoon. He texts his friends good night before the grasps of sleep start to take their hold on him. He yawns, flipping over once or twice before the world around him fades to a happy darkness.

Chapter Text

gyuvin @gyubbiethoughts🔒

i wanna kms

Gyuvin’s wise words for the day.

The next morning was, according to Gyuvin Data Statistics, expected to be tumultuous, with winds that may topple any overgrown tree and thunder clouds that may strike any unsuspecting tall object. Gyuvin had anticipated the next school day to be full of teasing, because university students are above bullying, but aren’t above relentless ridicule. Much to his surprise, it wasn’t (?). He likes to think he played along with the jokes well enough to pass as nonchalant.

Exhibit one, that is to say, the one and only exhibit:

Gyuvin was in his Business Law class that morning, his last class in his AM schedule. He had arrived a tad bit earlier than he usually does, able to witness the class in its quietness. Normally, he’d arrive a few minutes before the lecture starts; a quick glance at his phone (because who uses watches?) tells him it’s currently 9:57, when his class normally started at 10:30 AM. Sure, it’s not the earliest, and he’s definitely not seeing the supposed worms in the room for the earliest bird, but it was nice, he supposes. 

It was nice to watch as students slowly poured into the room, he thinks.

…

Okay, Gyuvin meant it ‘was’ nice because he’s recalling the past, but he also meant ‘ was’ because it turned not-so-nice a few moments after that train of thought.

Two classmates slowly approached him, both he recalled as the loud guys who sit at the back of the lecture hall, the kind people see as the ‘life of the party’ and by extension, notoriously up-to-date with all the latest gossip, and by extension², nosy and prying.

“Heyy, Kim Gyuvin, right?” One of them had said, sliding in the vacant seat next to him coolly. The other had been standing there beside the long desk. Gyuvin slightly flinches at the intrusion of his space (and the interruption of his peace) and turns to face them.

He smiled politely. “Yeah, what’s up?” 

Person 1 had quickly glanced at Person 2 with a snicker. “Anything to say about the recent allegations?” Person 1 asked him with a devious smirk.

Oh. Well? Erm. Yes? What the hell. Sure.

“Recent allegations..?” He said casually, despite the panic flaring up within him. To quote a queen: ‘This.. is exactly what I was afraid of.’

Person 2 snickered loudly, probably not buying his act, even with Gyuvin’s attempts at innocent puppy eyes. Instead, he looked like some deer in headlights.

“ Really?   You know..” Person 1 had dragged his words, looking at him like he should know, and he does, unfortunately. “Something-something about a certain campus crush in Fashion?”

Well, the cat’s out of the bag! Pack it up, folks! The show’s over! Internally, he screamed. Externally, he was stone-faced. As Nicki Minaj once prophesied, ‘Bats eyelashes, blank stare.’ 

“Erm, not sure where you heard that from..” He said after a beat of silence too long. 

“Right. So you left the chatroom, why?” Person 1, who honestly is more like an interviewer at this point, said amusedly. 

“... That was my dog.” What the hell. Who’s gonna believe that? It would have worked.. if his dog wasn’t at his parents’. Though at the same time, how would they have known that?

“Sure. Any other words?” Why’s this dude actually an interviewer? It’s almost like it’s being filmed. What? What. 

Gyuvin belatedly realized Person 2 wasn’t just some NPC-looking ass in the background. All along, he’s been slyly holding a phone as if he were taking a video, all with a shit-faced grin. Now, Gyuvin’s no idol with PR media training, but he thinks he knows just what to say.

“Haha..” He laughs dryly, voice monotone. “Just gotta say, AI has been getting crazy you guys..” He said with a straight face, the cherry on top was another chuckle that just sounded eerily robotic. 

Person 1 and Person 2 locked eyes, as if they were telepathically conversing, before nodding and leaving with a forced laugh. The implications behind the whole interaction were too daunting to think about. If there’s one thing Gyuvin knows, it’s to kill a conversation. Crises: Averted!

gyub @gyubbiethoughts 🔒

SOMEBODY HOLD ME BACKK!! RAGGHH 👊💥

..

The next morning, Gyuvin was doing his daily Tiktok scroll and came upon a Tiktok within his campus. Cool, what a nice coincidence, totally not the devious work of a stalking algorithm. Lo and behold, his face. What?

Turns out, dumb and dumber actually posted that video’d (without asking for consent too?! crazy work…) interview like they even achieved anything out of it. Worst of all, a quick look at the likes show that around 1.3k possible students/strangers have liked the Tiktok. Shibal. Well, there’s that.

..

So, back to the present. Gyuvin’s hunched over the counter, reading an unnecessarily large textbook about Economics. He’s at an ice cream parlor to study. Except, said ice cream parlor is where he is employed and funds all his impromptu purchases. The whole place is spacious, air conditioned, with bright, shining motifs that would make a child’s day. A kid’s paradise, if you will. Something Gyuvin, an older brother, would know much about, and is a proud expert in handling. 

He knows he should be intensely reading and absorbing all the knowledge in this Management book of his, mostly because the parlor’s lunch break ends in about 5 minutes, yet the words come in his brain and go straight out the exit. Something, something..  levels of managers.. top.. bottom, what? Seriously, the elevator music of a theme song this parlor has is starting to drive him insane.

Gyuvin sighs, tiredly laying his head on the cold marble counter. He’s still disgruntled and annoyed about those dudes approaching him yesterday, like what was their problem? He stares at the ice cream flavors next to him, his eyes focusing on the strawberry flavor blankly. 

Tinkle!

Was that a customer? Has it really been 5 minutes already? He stood up immediately, straightening his apron and uniform. Man, being the only employee most days of the week sucked ass.  He wasn’t really in the best mood to be welcoming a kid or schoolmate that would make fun of his fuckass uniform. Expecting another kid eager for a large cup, he adjusted his parlor hat and prepared the best and warmest smile he could muster, not that he hates kids, quite the contrary. 

He wasn’t anticipating meeting the familiar soft, boba-like, yet sharp eyes of Shen Ricky. What the hell, time and place. He shakes slightly, clearing his throat to reactivate his professionalism, clocking into work mode.

“Hello!” He beamed, a bit too enthusiastic. “Welcome, what can I get for you?” Wow. Ricky looks so good today. Ricky is also staring at Gyuvin confusedly, but that’s not very important. Gyuvin smiles at Ricky patiently. For what seems like the nth time that week, he didn’t notice the other man next to Ricky. Oh. 

Before he got heartbroken and slit his throat on the spot, he recognizes the slightly shorter man as Kim Taerae, best friend of Ricky and the campus band’s leader. Phew, that could’ve been disastrously. Who knows? Maybe he would’ve poisoned the other’s ice cream. Kidding! Not.

Despite Gyuvin’s staring, Taerae was too focused on the ice cream flavors and toppings shown above the counter to care. Ricky had stepped forward timidly, head tilted lower than usual with eyes slightly looking up at Gyuvin. Cute (what?).

“Um.. hi. Can I get a large strawberry?” Oh, he is so down bad for Ricky. His voice was velvety and deep, alluring yet soft-spoken. Gyuvin likes the way Ricky chose strawberry, it’s unsurprising and so on-brand. 

“Sure.” He gets a bright pink large cup with white stripes, the print having tiny little stars scattered around. Gyuvin pauses for a second, looking at Ricky.

Normally, this is the part where he'd write the customer’s name in fancy cursive writing, but it feels kind of awkward, somehow.. Would pretending not to know his name be offensive? Taerae really was taking his time looking at the menu, so much so he isn’t detecting the awkward silence in the air.

Wordlessly, he takes out his special glittery red marker, elegantly writing “Rwick” on the empty printless space, designated for names.

“Any toppings you’d like?” He asked, putting on his obnoxiously bright yellow gloves and scooping 3 scoops of strawberry ice cream in the cup. Ricky seemed to be a bit lost in his decision, staring up at the menu list like Taerae and deeply pondering. 

“What about some fresh strawberries?” Gyuvin suggests, seeming as Ricky is to strawberries as he is to mangoes, inseparable like this 🤞. Ricky’s features light up in a small smile, so that’s a win in Gyuvin’s books!

The blonde nodded, so he took a strawberry cut in half and arranged them at the side, where there was an empty space the ice cream scoops didn’t cover.  “Okay, anything else? The large cup comes with syrup and sprinkles.” He asks patiently, trying to push a little, as Ricky appears to be unsure of what he wanted. Either way, it didn’t matter, as Gyuvin would just simply oblige to Ricky’s beck and call.

“Okay. Syrup, please.” Gyuvin reaches for the pink bottle of strawberry syrup, pausing abruptly halfway. 

“Strawberry as well right?” He guesses, looking for confirmation.

“.. Yeah.” Ricky had said. Respectable. Gyuvin respects the dedication Ricky has to his strawberries. Although mangoes reign superior, nothing related to Ricky could ever be bad. He smiles fondly. 

He shakes the syrup, checking how full it is, before making a bold move. His tongue stuck out slightly in concentration as he started drawing a big heart out of the syrup. Gyuvin must do his absolute best decorating for Ricky’s possible post. Think of it this way, he makes a gorgeous cup, Ricky might post it. Posting ice cream Gyuvin made = posting Gyuvin on main.

Ricky was looking over the display of toppings, most probably looking for the final piece of the jigsaw that is his ice cream cup. “What’re you getting?” Taerae spoke up from behind Ricky.

“Um.. can I have the golden oreo crumbs?” Ricky said, realizing Taerae was waiting for him to finish ordering. 

“Of course.” Gyuvin sprinkles the crushed crumbs precisely over the ice cream hills. He sneaked in a fully intact golden oreo at the side, no manager supervising him either way! Honestly, it was his ice cream magnum opus. Fresh strawberries at the side with golden oreos, an elegantly drawn heart throughout the scoops of strawberry and the crumbs sprinkled like stars. It’s all topped off by the “Rwick” written in sparkling and swirling cursive letters.

“Here you go.” Gyuvin moves to the collecting area, manning the cash register as he punches in Ricky’s order, who handed Gyuvin his card to pay. He delicately passed it to Ricky, alongside the printed receipt. 

His fingers slightly brushed against Ricky’s when exchanging, sending a spark of electricity down Gyuvin’s spine. He flushed lightly. He doesn’t miss the glint and shine of the blonde’s face as he happily accepts the cup. Gyuvin’s not the bragging type, but he thinks he did a 10/10 job, he’d even go so far as to say Ricky’s happily enjoying it. 

He registers Ricky saying something to Taerae, taking a seat by the window. Ricky pulled out his phone and was furiously (?) typing something into his phone. Gyuvin’s so enraptured by Ricky, he didn’t hear Taerae clearing his throat. Oops!

“So. Can I have this week’s special?” Taerae said, still taking glances at the numerous toppings.

“Yep.” He said popping the ‘p.’ “Vanilla with berries and granola?” He asked, just making sure they were talking about the same special.

“Yeah, large please.” And with that, he got back to work. Nothing romantic about working when it isn’t about Ricky. He had assembled it quickly, which was a far cry from what felt like hours with Ricky’s order–which in actuality, only consisted of a few minutes.

Despite his lack of genuine care, he still made sure to make the cup presentable. Maybe the best way to get Ricky’s love and attention is to go for his friends..? The friend of my friend is a friend’s friend.. What? That’s not right..

“Card or cash?” Gyuvin said with a signature customer service smile, a smile that slightly cracks internally when he hears more ringing of the door; the clock has struck 1:07 PM and the kids are here to terrorize him. Well.

Taerae paid with his card and scurried over to where Ricky was, sitting across from him. Gyuvin couldn’t help the pride he felt when Ricky was posing with the cup, emblazoned with a nickname that the blonde appeared to enjoy. 

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to enjoy a free and albeit creepy view of Ricky, as he had to attend to the rats eagerly looking for a sugar overload. Tch. Which.. is admittedly hypocritical, as Ricky’s order was no different. But, these kids are nothing in comparison to the aegyoful god that is Ricky! Exactly.

He autonomously takes orders, guiding others through the ice cream process as he hums to whatever song was playing on the speakers. That’s something he should actually know of.. though he’s not sure what’s going on with the state of his Spotify playlist. 

The next few minutes pass by like hours, stretched out as the afternoon rays pass by and illuminate the already-bright place in a more serene and idyllic atmosphere. Woah. When you’re trying to admire your friend (crush?) but get blinded by their lethal face card.

Yeah, he’s entertaining these kids and tired office-workers with their orders, and despite all his polite and bubbly aura, his mind sure was in a separate plane of existence. 

A chair quietly squeaks from Ricky’s direction, Gyuvin turned his head, trying to act like he hadn’t already been staring in his periphery. Ricky and Taerae had gotten up and finished their ice cream, evident by the empty cups laying on the table. Taerae yawned and exclaimed something Gyuvin didn’t catch, walking past the blonde to the exit. Oddly enough, Ricky stayed put for a moment.

“Rick?” Gyuvin heard Taerae ask.

“Oh. Sorry.” Ricky said, startled, picking up their paper cups and disposing of them himselves at the trash can by the door. That’s so sweet. Gyuvin might cry. No, he would’ve, if the place wasn’t filled with the occasional couple and not-so-occasional kids. 

Taerae hummed, walking out of the shop. Ricky was about to follow, locking eyes with him one more time before leaving, already halfway out the door with a small smile. A goodbye. The blonde waved his hand, light flooding in through the glass doors, illuminating Ricky as if he were incandescently aglow. Gyuvin, dazed, waved back weakly, although he bet he was smiling like he won the lottery. Ricky left, the bell atop the door tinkling as it echoed in Gyuvin’s brain.

Gyuvin smiled to himself. His heart’s beating so fast, it shouldn’t be humanly possible how endearing and light-headed Ricky made him feel.

gyub @gyubbiethoughts 🔒

I WANTT HIM SO BADAGIQHGagaqf

(gif of a man screaming and falling onto his knees)

..

gyuvin ☆ ! @kimgyuvin_

🚬 🚬

mashuu @canadianoppa

replying to @kimgyuvin_

?????

wook ! @wooksters

replying to @candianoppa

😍

wook ! @wooksters

replying to @wooksters

sorry. misclick.

gyuvin ☆ ! @kimgyuvin_

replying to @wooksters

😂😂😂 i know something u dontt.. 

 

..

DA BOYZ

muscledaddy69: now what was that abt u guys..?? @mang(yu)o @gunWOKE

hambin: context?

muscledaddy69: yes i NEED context

OLDIE: I think Matthew’s the one looking for context..

child: okay but we need context 2 

muscledaddy69: what hte hell are we TLAKING ABOUT

hambin: chill dude what’s even going on..

muscledaddy69: I DONT KNOWF!F!!!

gunWOKE: what’s going on with him..?

mang(yu)o: ignore him he’s having a severe case of FOMO

OLDIE: Oh.

child: u dunno what htat is do u

OLDIE: Like foam!

hambin: .. sure!

mang(yu)o: loml just visited to eat ice cream 😣😣

child: hyung. what else would he do at an ice cream parlor

mang(yu)o: NO cuz hes supposed to have textile science at arnd this time on a wednesday 😣😣 he wanted to visit me so bad

hambin: why do you have ricky’s schedule..?

muscledaddy69: oh is that why u wanted his schedule.. 

mang(yu)o: well yeah but im not stalking him so

muscledaddy69: thats fair..

OLDIE: So Matthew is enabling Gyuvin’s stalking tendencies?

child: what why did u even give him the schedule mashu hyung

muscledaddy69: he promised to buy me lunch for a week ♥️

mang(yu)o: WORTH 

gunWOKE: WTF is that where hyung got the spare money for the arcade

muscledaddy69: yes!

child: my hyung is stupid….

mang(yu)o: hey im doing it all for love

child: he dont want you

OLDIE: 😨

hambin: yujinnie…

mang(yu)o: ….

muscledaddy69: i dont think yujinnie meant that..

gunWOKE: yeah..

mang(yu)o: AAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHH!!!!!! *ALPHA UNLEASHES*

mang(yu)o: AAAWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

child: um..

hambin: anywho

OLDIE: That was..

gunWOKE: cringe..

OLDIE: Yeah..

muscledaddy69: cant defend u on this one bro..

mang(yu)o: I HATYE YOU ALL

..

gyuvin ☆ ! @kimgyuvin_

all my friends r toxic.

4 likes

..

Gyuvin, later that day, posts on his instagram notes.

🎵 bad • wave to earth 

         mangyuvin_

He gets a message not even 5 minutes later. Gyuvin whips his head to his phone, the Google Documents essay on his laptop forgotten. He sits up straight, although the chances are low, he inwardly hoped it was Ricky. Like, really, really badly. Imagine his disappointment when he sees a familiar profile picture; a mirror selfie of a man in a black tank top, the center of the picture being their flexed arm muscle – his dear friend, typical thirst-trapping matthew.

Gyuvin scoffed out loud, annoyedly focusing back on his essay. 

Ding!

Another notification from Matthew. This rat.. He snappishly picked his phone up and pressed that damn chat button with too much force than necessary, only revealing more fuckassery. 

matt

replying to your note

THE CLOSET IS MADE OF GLASS BROO

mangyuvin_

FUCK YOU BRO

matt

oh you wish it was ricky texting badd

SUCK IT UP LOSER

mangyuvin_ 

CAN YOU GET OUT OF MY DMS 

He gets no response after that. 

..

Despite that interaction, Gyuvin came over at Matthew’s the next day. Some may call that bipolar behavior, he thinks it’s just boyhood. Anywho, he’s lounging on Matthew’s couch, the man lying adjacent to him, fast asleep. Which honestly is just bad hosting, because who invites somebody for a movie only to fall asleep within the first 20 minutes? 

So, here he is. In a dark room only illuminated by the movie Matthew had said was “Final Destination 1,” the first of a popular franchise in the states. It was interesting, he supposes, a bit gnarly with all the gore, blood splatters, and the new lingering paranoia/fear of exploding planes, cars, buses, flying objects, falling billboards, and he’s sure that list will keep adding on as he keeps watching more of the franchise. 

A sound from behind rattles Gyuvin, who was nestled in a blanket. The door opened, then the lights turned on. Gyuvin’s thinking it must be Matthew’s undisclosed roommate. Though, in the off-chance of an intruder.. he should be wary. He reached out for the glass flower vase, ignoring the water and tulip inside. Whoever you are out there, I’m armed and ready! He thinks part of being a boy is preparing for the worst.

Slowly, he peeks out from where he’s lying on the couch, his head barely poking out as he notices the sound of the door closing. Hm. From where his head’s at, he can only see the figure’s clothing clearly, their odd bright and patterned clothing the only thing visible. Well, not to stereotype, but the concept of a person dressed like that breaking-and-entering is a bit too funny – he was about to lower the vase until he realized anybody can kill. If he were in a slasher film he’d definitely be the final girl.

Or.. not. Because the alleged trespasser glared at him, and Gyuvin did what he did best; freeze. At least, he gets a good look at the perpetrator’s face before he’s inevitably shot up with Matthew next on the chopping block. 

His eyes blink uncomfortably from the light, used to the darkness of the room. 

And it’s..  the guy Ricky was with at the ice cream parlor? Oh. For all the times he’s crashed over, Gyuvin swears he’s never seen Matthew’s notorious, singing roommate. Especially the fact that this singing roommate is also Ricky’s best friend. What a small world…….er. Campus. What a small campus.

His head fully emerged from the couch, not-so-subtly placing the vase back on the coffee table. “ Hi.” He quietly greeted, mindful of how Matthew was still snoring from beside him. 

“Hey. Sorry, I’ll turn the lights back off.” Taerae has a nice speaking voice, Gyuvin notes. Maybe being well/soft-spoken comes with being Ricky’s confidante, which isn’t true because of Zhang Hao. No shade to his hyung, but he’s never met anybody louder.. in multiple aspects.

“And.. were you holding the vase?” Taerae said, slightly concerned. Shoot, he didn’t think Taerae saw that.

“Um.. I was thirsty.” 

“Right. Craving flowers, perhaps?’

“.. They taste good.” 

“Right..” And with that, Taerae turned the lights off and retreated to his room. Probably why he never sees the man, always out or cooped up in his room. Taerae’s somewhat familiar tone of speaking towards him probably means he recognizes Gyuvin from the parlor, though he’s not sure what to do with that information.

Gyuvin looks back at the TV screen, unsure of what was happening after he blocked out the speaker with his paranoia of an intruder. Some wild death scene involving flying sharp objects occurs and he’s already too distracted by its goriness to ponder on thoughts about Matthew’s roommate. 

A few more minutes of watching with no context and the film ends. Matthew, who was out like a rock, miraculously awakens when the ending credits roll in. At that point, Gyuvin was on his phone, reflecting on how to avoid imminent death as he scrolled on Twitter.

“You like the movie?” Matthew asks, yawning as he hugs a pillow and shuffles in an attempt to return to a comfortable position.

“T’was okay.. Kinda scared of everything now.” Gyuvin pouted. Matthew only laughed, expecting that answer. 

“That’s just how it is, you’ll get used to it when we watch the new movie.” Matthew said, referring to the ones coming in cinemas. 

“Wasn’t that only the first movie??”

“Um. Yeah, but I think it’ll be fine.” 

“Dude, I don’t think I could handle it..” Though Gyuvin was trying to sound scared, he was definitely more preoccupied with what was on his phone. An audio of sorts emitting from his phone over and over.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re gonna watch it next week.” Matthew said, unimpressed. 

“Uhuh..”

Matthew kicked him. Gyuvin stared at him, question marks practically flying around his face. “Pay attention!” 

“Yeah, like you were during the movie.” Clock. Gag order. Oh, Gyuvin, don’t clock Matthew like that..

“I’ve already watched it!!” Matthew exclaimed, reaching over to Gyuvin’s side of the couch. “What’re you even looking at?? That fuckass audio has been playing for 5 minutes now.”  He tried to look at Gyuvin’s phone, who recoiled and threw his phone on the table.

“What the hell. Were you watching furry porn or something?” Matthew asked incredulously, confused at Gyuvin’s random spurt of panic. 

“Erm. No. Just thought it was a cockroach.” He said cooly, trying to brush things off.

“Yeah, yeah, lemme see.” Matthew picked up the other’s phone, against Gyuvin’s wishes, and unlocked it with a few presses of a button. Damn it. How does everybody know his passcode? Maybe he shouldn’t have set his passcode as his birthday.

“YAH WAIT-!”

There it was. Shen Ricky’s Instagram story, a picture taken from the side of Ricky laying in bed and watching a K-drama on his IPad. It was captioned “mama dont know i snatched his phone 😛 -hao,” which was, impossibly endearing, as per usual of Ricky. Now, Gyuvin could keep going on about Ricky, then, the presence of Matthew is actively obstructing and breaking his focus on what’s important.

“Bro.. you’re fucking whipped..” Matthew said, in disbelief and shock that didn’t last for long, as he started laughing almost-maniacally. “Oh.. this is too good..”

“Shut up…” Gyuvin whined, crashing his face into a pillow in embarrassment. He really didn’t mean for Matthew to see any of his Rickyville agenda. 

“Yeah. Sorry, didn’t mean to tell you somethin’ you already know.” Matthew smugly remarked. If Taerae wasn’t in the next room doing God knows what, Gyuvin might have actually pounced and launched a whole assault on Matthew.

“Whatever.” Gyuvin said, now laying sideways on the couch and reaching for his phone back. Matthew hands it back to him without much of a fuss, except he had that same old smug smile on him. Now, hold on..

“What did you do..?” 

“Nothing!” Matthew said that a bit too cheerfully. Gyuvin should be worried.

Gyuvin inspected his phone, only to see the outline of a heart at the bottom right corner of the screen filled up and shining red. Matthew liked Ricky’s story on behalf of Gyuvin.

“YAH MATTHEW!” He raised his arm, threatening Matthew, who was red from giggling and laughing so much. Gyuvin kept hitting him lightly, cursing him out.

“OKAY! OKAY! I’M SORRY!” Matthew yelped out, chest puffing and heaving from all his laughter.

“Traitor.” Gyuvin pouted.

“Don’t act like you don’t like everything Ricky posts..”

“I don’t!!” Gyuvin said defensively.

“Actually!” Matthew said in an annoyingly nerdy tone, index finger up with a funny face. “You know we see it right? It’s always on his posts: ‘liked by mangyuvin_.’” Not like he was wrong, but Gyuvin still didn’t appreciate being called out like that.

“No further comment.” Gyuvin sighed, defeated and resigned. Never beating the (true) allegations. Matthew smugly left him to his own devices as he starts texting someone on his phone.

..

Meanwhile, in the next room:

GIRLS by aespa

tarae: u guys.. straight irl oomfie js brought his straight bro over…

lovelicky: sucks to be you <3

lovelicky: ive been watching a kdrama

zhanghaotopworldstar: im w my binnie 💗

tarae: wrdgaf

lovelicky: agree.

Woongie: I ate dinner.

lovelicky: thats so nice ♥️ whered u eat?

tarae: omgg that reminds me.. we should go to that new cafe

zhanghaotopworldstar: WHATEVER 🙄

mashu: wtf? is straight irl oomfie me?????

tarae: well yes

mashu: IM YOUR ROOMMATE

tarae: AND MY STRAIGHT IRL OOMFIE?

zhanghaotopworldstar: bi-curious*

lovelicky: ouu u guys r messy…

Woongie: Matthew..? 🏳️‍🌈

zhanghaotopworldstar: HE GETSS ITT

tarae: 😦

mashu: AM NOT

lovelicky: be who you are for your pridee

tarae: wait i kinda see the vision. bi matt. woah.

zhanghaotopworldstar: EXACTLYYY

Woongie: 👏👏👏 Bisexuality 👏👏👏

mashu: STOPPP ENOUGH OF THIS

Matthew was furiously typing on his phone, garnering Gyuvin’s attention by the time Matthew has grunted for about the 10th time. ‘That damn gay was probably giggling his ass off next room.’ Matthew grumbled. Homophobia in the big 25.. Shockers.

“You okay there? Getting bullied on Roblox?” Gyuvin jokingly said. Matthew only glared at him.

“You’re next.” Matthew deadpanned. Woah, okay. Totally not ominous at all. Matthew continued on his phone, a bit calmer this time.

GIRLS by aespa

tarae: omg i was gonna say something but i lowk forgot..

lovelicky: okay??

zhanghaotopworldstar: what do you want us to say…

mashu: EXACTLY 

tarae: NOO it was gonna be such a crazy lore drop too..

lovelicky: can u not im watching my kdrama and ure ruining it..

tarae: okay wtf fine just say you hate me.

zhanghaotopworldstar: if it helps i do hate you ♥️

lovelicky: 👍

Woongie: 👍

mashu: DESERVED

tarae: WTF F U ALL

Matthew laughed. Gyuvin is starting to get worried for his own safety. He tried to focus on his phone like ‘Oh wow! A new Ateez comeback!’ but Matthew’s gone silent and that’s never a good sign.

DA BOYZ

muscledaddy69: caught gyub rewatching his bumass crush’s story 😂

muscledaddy69: bro was streaming it like he was it was a kpop comeback 😂😂

Gyuvin was right in his suspicions.

mang(yu)o: WTF DELETE

muscledaddy69: 😛

OLDIE: Nothing wrong with being in love. 🌈

hambin: exactly! but still kinda loser behavior icl

gunWOKE: cant ever be surprised by any of gyubs fuckass antics..

mang(yu)o: LET A MAN LIVE 😭

child: GAY

OLDIE: Yujin-ah.. you can’t say that…

child: YOU ARE GAY

hambin: well he’s not wrong…

gunWOKE: child caught stepping out of line 😮

muscledaddy69: u guys noticed how gyub liked every single one of rickys posts..

hambin: oh.. i mean i support but thats a bit too hasty..

child: LKOSER

gunWOKE: yeah everytime ricky’s posts come on the tl it always says liked by gyub

muscledaddy69: EXACTLY WHAT I WAS SAYING

gunWOKE: 🥰

OLDIE: ? I’m confused..

hambin: ☺️

child: ermm… lets continue attacking my brother..

mang(yu)o: FAKIE

Man, everybody hates him (lovingly). Matthew stares at him from across the couch deviously, and Gyuvin’s had just about enough of his smugness.

“Ugh, I wanna go home..” Gyuvin said, dragging his words to emphasize his tiredness.

“Bro. No. The night is so young.” 

“Like the Nicki song?”

“Exactly.” 

“... Matthew, it’s a school night.” Gyuvin stared at Matthew with serious and grumpy eyes, wanting to fulfill his Rickyville agenda in the peace of his own room.

“Tomorrow’s a Friday.” Matthew said, like it’d change anything, flailing his arms around.

“Yeah. So we can hang out.. TOMORROW.” 

“Okay..” Matthew looked up at him with sad eyes, trying to guilt-trip him. Unfortunately for him, Gyuvin is Yujin’s older brother and has long been immune to such devilish charms.

Gyuvin pats him on the back with a laugh and starts getting ready to leave.

..

It’s been an hour since he arrived home from Matthew’s, yet in spite of this, his thumb’s currently hovering over the call button next to Matthew’s phone number. He goes against his better judgment and dials him, Matthew answering it within the second ring.

“Gyub? Did you leave anything?” Matthew said.

“Erm.. no..” He croaked. Damn, how was he gonna say this?

Matthew made a disgruntled noise. “So why’d you call, hello?!” 

“How.. do I..” He trailed off. “Uh, how do I..” 

“How do you complete a sentence? You say it, bitchass.” 

Even though he caught a stray, he said it anyway, “How do I get closer with Ricky?”

Silence. No sound from the other line. “Um, hello? Matthew~?”

“What the helly,” Matthew said with a blank tone. “And that’s hyung to you.” Clearly he was not very happy about this..

“Yes, hyung..”

“First of all, you went home early when we could’ve talked about this at my place?!” 

“Well, Taerae’s there. And, y’know? Taerae and Ricky are friends…”

“YAH! I’m one of Ricky’s friends too!?” 

“Okay, but you wouldn’t tell him.” Gyuvin said matter-of-factly. He likes to believe Matthew is a real one.

“Don’t test me..” 

“You wouldn’t..”

“Oh, but if I do?” The thought of Matthew ratting him out to Ricky (who probably knows ?) is one thought he doesn’t want to entertain.

“Don’t…” Gyuvin cried, fake sobbing into the mic with a straight expression. Not like Matthew could see his face, eitherway.

“Cry for daddy.” 

“Ew, what the fuck?” He made a gagging noise, appalled at his friend’s raunchy behavior. “What if Taerae hears this?” 

“Trust, he won’t.”

“Are you in the living room?” 

“.. Yes.” 

GIRLS by aespa

tarae: MATTHEW ARE YOU ESEXING IN THE LIVING ROOM

lovelicky: ???

zhanghaotopworldstar: oh.. thats not..

Woongie: 😨

tarae: @mashu EXPLAIN YOURSELF

mashu: dw abt it kitten

Woongie: Hey.

mashu: IM SORRY HYUNG

tarae: EXACTLY 🤬

“Yeah.. Taerae heard it..” Matthew said after a short pause. Gyuvin vaguely hears the sound of shuffling around, then a door shutting.

“Are you in your room now?” 

“Yeah, no more distractions between us, kitten.” Matthew huskily said in an obnoxiously low voice.

“Are you in heat??” This was concerning behavior. “Also, what if your room isn’t sound-proof?”

“Well, Taerae hasn’t complained about the girls I’ve made scream on my bed..”

Pause. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?” Gyuvin’s face morphed into one of pure disbelief, mouth agape. 

“Kidding! Not.” 

“You better fucking be.” Gyuvin sighed loudly. “So, my question?”

“Uh, honestly you just have to hang out with him.” He hears Matthew shuffle again, probably on his bed. “He warmed up to be pretty fast, like, on the third consecutive hangout.”

“Damn, you’re pulling out the big words..” 

“Hey! I’m a born-not-raised Korean!” Matthew yelled. “And why can’t we talk about this in the GC again?” 

‘Because..”

“Hold on, Gyuvin-ie..” That didn’t sound too good.

“.. Hyung?” Gyuvin asked timidly after a minute too long of silence. Panicking when Matthew said nothing, he immediately opened KakaoTalk in a hurry. Matthew was typing in their groupchat.

DA BOYZ

muscledaddy69: hey so

mang(yu)o: CEASE AND DESIST

hambin: what?

OLDIE: So much going on tonight..

child: ??

“YAH!” Gyuvin yelped helplessly, scared for his life. Maybe he was a bit too loud in the evening, but his reputation was at stake, once again. “HYUNG, STOP!”

gunWOKE: gyuvins yelling in his room

child: likely thing for him to be doing

Matthew only laughed on the line. “Fine, fine~ I swear, just try to interact with him more, and then you’ll start texting..” He trails off. “And then.. I dunno, you get in his bed the next thing.”

“Oh…” Not funny. Not funny.

“So. Do you happen to know when Geonuk’s free?” Oh. Gyuvin mischievously smiles to himself, revenge is coming.

“Umm, I dunnoo..” He plays dumb. 

“Yah. I know you know.” 

“Fine, fine~” He imitates Matthew’s sarcastic tone from earlier.

“Spit it out!” 

“Tomorrow, he’ll get home at around 4 PM. Don’t know if he has plans, though.”

“Nice. I’m coming over.”

“Woah, there. You’re quick with it, aren’t you?”

“With what?” Is he playing dumb too? There’s no way.

“Can you not fuck on the couch, by the way? Go to Wookie’s room.”

“WHAT.” Yeah, yeah, sweet revenge. Nothing tastes better than the sweetness of vengeance. “Me? The woman-lover of the group?” 

“Don’t lie to yourself.. Pride month’s right around the corner..” 

“It’s April.” 

“Yeah, still got some time to come out, bro.” 

“I’M NOT GAY.”

“And denial is a river in egypt, got it.”

“Okay, but I’m not the one who’s getting gay-investigated by the whole campus, so who’s really winning here?”

“Slit your throat.” Gyuvin hangs up. What a dick.

..

A few minutes pass, and Gyuvin’s mindlessly scrolling through Tiktok while lying on his bed. A knock on his door.

“Wooks? Come in.” He yelled out, rolling over on his stomach. Gunwook came in, comfortable looking with toner pads on his face and in his pajamas. The man wasted no time in getting comfortable and laying down next to Gyuvin.

“What’s up?” Gyuvin asked after some moments of silence, where Gunwook was loudly thinking.

“.. Were you talking to Matthew earlier?” 

“Uh, yeah? Why?” What a weird question to ask.

“Do you know when he’s free..?”

“Oh.” These bitches gay. “He’s coming over tomorrow, actually.” Gyuvin said, putting down his phone to take a peek at Gunwook’s reaction.

As expected, Gunwook immediately lit up. “Really? Yay!” Twenty years old, by the way. No shame, though. Respect the aegyo-grind. Gunwook got up and already retreated back into his room, so much for friendship. 

Though, in retaliation, Gyuvin’s planning on ‘running an errand’ the moment Matthew comes over. Hehe. Let the games begin!

..

It’s the next day, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and Matthew’s in front of his door. 

“You’re here.. early.” Gyuvin said, disheveled as he just got out of bed. Which, he would’ve been enjoying right now if he wasn’t awoken by a rude doorbell and an even ruder person.

“It’s 11 am?”

“I don’t wake up until lunch.”

“And? Is that supposed to be my problem?” Rude ass hoe.

He lets Matthew in, begrudgingly, and knocks on Gunwook’s door without a word, leaving promptly for the bathroom. No better time to start the day, he guesses. Half an hour later, he’s fully dressed for a normal day and prepared to ‘run an errand’ as per his grand plan.

Gyuvin walks in the living room, eyeing how Gunwook and Matthew are sitting a little too close. Huh, weird. Homosexuals (lovingly). Matthew noticed him immediately, saving him the trouble of barging in the middle of their eye-fucking contest.

“You going out?” Matthew said, eyeing his fit for the day.

“Yep. Running an errand.”

“Oh, can you help Ricky? He’s over at mine with Taerae.” Matthew and Gyuvin shared a knowing look, a look of understanding each other’s ulterior motives with their crush, except one of them is in gay-denial. 

“.. Sure.” Gyuvin was supposed to torture Matthew by leaving him awkward and alone with Gunwook, but Gyuvin’s nothing but an opportunist. 

Unsuspecting Gunwook, who was clueless about the whole impromptu plan, is rightfully confused at the conversation. “Gyub, where are you going?” 

“Um.. Sorry, have an emergency. Just have fun with Matthew!”

“What..?” Gunwook stammered. “Yah!” Gyuvin immediately escaped for the door, leaving with a big smile on his face, one he shared with Matthew just before he fully stepped out of apartment premises. 

Walking was fun, knowing he was walking to go hangout with his crush wasn’t that fun. It was exhilarating, that’s for sure, though not the healthy kind for his heart. Gyuvin understood Matthew just wanted Gyuvin to leave him and Gunwook alone for some privacy, but he’s not sure what to expect when he gets to him and Taerae’s dorm. 

He assumes Taerae’s home too, so it shouldn’t be too awkward. Although he only knows Taerae from Ricky’s stories featuring the man, he thinks the conversation they shared yesterday was enough of an ice-breaker for a productive hangout. 

Whew, now he’s standing face-to-face with Taerae and Matthew’s dorm, a 10-minute walk away from his campus dorm building. He’s buzzing with excitement, ready to use the conversation starters he had searched up the previous night.

Examples of these so-called ‘conversation starters’: “What do you think about the state of our economy?”, “Minecraft or Roblox?”, “What’s your favorite chicken brand?”, “Any thoughts on the new Phineas and Ferb season?” and “Hey, you look gorgeous today.” Honestly speaking, maybe everything except the first and last one would work, he thinks. 

Clearing his throat and checking his reflection with his phone, he rings the doorbell. He expects Taerae to answer the door, but is met with the innocent-eyed Ricky. Oh. Rest in peace, Gyuvin.

“Erm.. Hey!” He greeted, a little awkward and forced. 

“Uh, hi.. Sorry, Matthew’s not here.”

“I know.” He said too quickly. “Um, I mean, I didn’t know he wasn’t here! He asked me to run an errand.. in his.. room.” Gyuvin’s not sure if Ricky was really buying it, he just hopes his dashing looks would distract (and seduce) the blonde.

“Oh okay.” Ricky moved out of the day, stiffly walking into the living room, where the TV is playing a K-drama.. with no sight of a Kim Taerae?

“Where’s Taerae-hyung?” He decided to be polite with the formalities, not knowing if Ricky will take offense to him casually addressing Taerae.

“I came to enjoy a K-drama with Taerae but he decided to betray me for a booty call.” Ricky said with a serious tone and face. 

Gyuvin laughs. “Weird, sounds a bit familiar.” 

Andd the conversation ended there.

Yep. It was pure silence, aside from the dramatic K-drama with a girl chasing after her man in slow-motion.

DA BOYZ

mang(yu)o: wtf @muscledaddy69 IM ALONE WHERES TAERAE

gunWOKE: ?? where r u ?

muscledaddy69: idk where he is

OLDIE: Sorry, Taerae’s a bit preoccupied.

child: ???????

hambin: oh… hyung….

mang(yu)o: umm can u tell him to come back home quick

OLDIE: I don’t think he’s gonna be home anytime soon. Or walking.

mang(yu)o: WHATAWAF……

child: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo

child: 😭😭😭😭😭 WHY GAY 😭😭 WHY GAY 😭😭 WHY GAY😭😭

gunWOKE: OH!!!!

hambin: 😀

mashu: whats going on

GIRLS by aespa

lovelicky: KIM TAERAE WHERE ARE YOU 💔

zhanghaotopworldstar: i bet hes getting destroyed

mashu: ?? 

mashu: ur talking abt gaming ryt? hyung?

lovelicky: i fear he isnt.. @Woongie

mashu: 😨

tarae: Sorry! Taerae is busy right now.

lovelicky: oh thats not…. 

zhanghaotopworldstar: CALLED ITTT PAY UP @lovelicky

lovelicky: what why just me 😿

mashu: JIWOONG HYUNG!?!?

mashu: thats nasty work..

lovelicky: can somebody come over mashu n taerae’s im alone w someone..

zhanghaotopworldstar: what. who?

lovelicky: kim gyuvin-ssi 🙁

mashu: yoo hes a nice guy

lovelicky: im scared of people

zhanghaotopworldstar: u could do with some more social interaction

lovelicky: no. please 😭

Gyuvin looked at Ricky’s semi-shocked, semi-despaired face, and he looked impeccably handsome as usual, by the day. Maybe they were having the same questions with their respective friend groups..

“So. Taerae, huh?”

“Taerae… Yes.” 

“Allegedly having or had some fun?”

“Yep.. Left me for a so-called appointment..” 

“Ha. It was an appointment, alright. The d-kind.” That sad-excuse of a joke actually elicited a laugh from Ricky. Woah. If Gyuvin was asked what sound he’d want to listen to for the rest of his life, he definitely knows his answer.

“Oh, what errand did Matthew ask you to do again?” Ricky said, once the atmosphere lightened from the joke. Nice one, Gyuvin!

“Um,” Shibal (internally). “uh, to.. assemble a LEGO set! Yeah!” Not a nice one, Gyuvin!

“Really?” Ricky asked, genuinely curious.

“Yeah! Wanna help?” Surprisingly, Gyuvin saved the situation. He had recalled the other week, where he and his friends were out and about at a mall. Matthew had bought an insane amount of LEGO sets, an amount that shouldn’t be financially possible for a working college student. Anywho, Matthew’s addiction actually benefited Gyuvin for once. It was an odd ‘errand’ but hey, it worked!

“Sure. I’ve never assembled a LEGO set before.” YES!

..

Gyuvin wasn’t really sure which one they were supposed to build. Matthew had 3 boxes, and he wanted to make sure Ricky had fun with the assembly. Unfortunately, Gyuvin didn’t have much experience with building LEGO sets himself, always opting to watch videos or Matthew when he did them. It just seemed unnecessarily hard, especially with the English instructions.

Not that he couldn’t read English, sometimes he just wants to not think about languages in general.

Ricky actually was the one who chose it in the end. “Qubing? Let’s just do this one.” Ricky grabbed the decently-sized box next to him, while Gyuvin was knee-deep in Matthew’s collection of unopened boxes.

“Gyuvin.” He tried to correct Ricky, lovingly, of course.

“What? My name’s Ricky.” Nobody informed him that his future husband was a comedic genius. Woah. Had him suppressing a laugh there.

“.. No, my name is Gyuvin.”

“I know that? Qubing.” Ricky huffed, confident in his pronunciation.

“Right.” He threw Ricky a funny look, quietly accepting his fate. Either way, it was cute.

Gyuvin knelt down on the giant carpet rug in Matthew’s room, inspecting the label of the box. Ricky was behind the box, opposite to Gyuvin, who was still inspecting for a label.

“What even is this?” Gyuvin asked, only seeing what seems to be a mansion and some characters from a supposed film franchise.

“Oh, wait. I know this! Twilight!” Ricky beams out of nowhere. That probably was the loudest he’s heard Ricky, not that it was still loud compared to Gyuvin-standards. The name wasn’t very familiar to Gyuvin.

“Twilight?”

“Yes!” Ricky cheered, excitement evident. “It’s a big movie series abroad, don't you know Twilight?”

“Huh, no.. that’s cool. Why would Matthew have it then?” Dumb question, actually. Gyuvin thinks he should start thinking before speaking, unfortunately his mouth always worked faster than his brain.

“Matthew lived in Canada..” Ricky furrowed his eyebrows.

“Oh.” Yep. Kill him now.

Ricky turned the box around, and there it was written in edgy lettering: “twilight.” Well, not his fault he was looking at the back. 

“I can’t believe you don’t know about the iconic Cullen house. “ Ricky huffs, cheeks slightly puffing out. “We should watch it soon. No, we will, even if you don’t want to. I’ll force you.” What. Was that a hangout suggestion? Yes! He recognizes Ricky’s attempt at intimidation, though he thinks Ricky should work on being less gorgeous to achieve that scariness.

“Whatever you say.” Gyuvin smiled, probably looking stupid as hell, like a dog given a bone, but he didn’t care. 

Ricky looked up from the box to smile at him, getting back to work on opening the box. Oh wow, there are a lot of parts.. This definitely wasn’t meant as a one-man job, he’s so lucky to have the best and most beautiful man/woman next to him. 

Gyuvin eyes the dismantled box. “Warning: choking hazard. Haha.” He laughs, Ricky staring at him, perplexed. Does he want to choke? What? Who said that.

He gets started on the house itself, ripping apart the plastics that held the lego blocks. They looked simple enough, it’s always been the sheer amount of LEGO blocks that really seemed daunting. Gyuvin found the instruction manual and started reading.. whatever this is. 

“1 is 2x and 4x,” he said in English, “what the hell is this part..?” Which caught Ricky’s attention, who was distracted with the assembly of the characters. 

“I think 2x is this 2-by-2 block. The grey one, flooring, I guess?” Ricky said with some form of familiarity. He loves a smart man.

“You’re so hot.” Is what he should’ve said, instead he looked away and blushed furiously, despite Ricky just clarifying his confusions. What can he say? He loves a fluent and smart man (NOT talking about Matthew!!)

..

About 10 minutes pass, 10 minutes of him only assembling 10 parts, meaning he’s averaging about 1 minute per part, which is embarrassing considering most of that minute is spent finding each part. He’s no LEGO connoisseur, so he doesn’t know the statistics of how fast these builds should be, though he should account for the fact that there are 2001 pieces. 

On the flipside, his future husband is having a blast with his character assembly. If he took a long time, Ricky seemed to be taking longer, only due to the fact he was playing with the three characters he’s made. 

“Listen.. me and Nessie..” Ricky said, talking in a comically deep voice as he held a LEGO figure of a tan man with long black hair.

Immediately, Ricky went up a few octaves with the way he said, “Nessie!? You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness monster!?” in the most squeakiest, cutest, and aegiful tone. He starts making the ‘Bella’ figure attack the tan man, poor dude, probably deserved it though if Ricky is making her knock him out.

Gyuvin could only smile fondly, mindlessly taking a picture in the middle of Ricky’s roleplay.

“Yah.. did you take a picture?!” Ricky angrily pouted, threatening him with a raised fist that really didn’t look threatening.

“Maybe. Hehe.” 

“Can I see?” Ricky’s ears were slightly red, if Gyuvin wasn’t love-drunk, maybe he would’ve caught the embarrassment in Ricky’s tone. Gyuvin promptly shows Ricky the photo on his phone: Ricky squatting on the floor, a big smile on his face while he held up the Bella figure, the tan man lying presumably knocked out on the floor. It looks messy, it’s awry, Ricky isn’t exactly in the center but that radiant smile definitely is the center of attention.

For some reason, the photo feels like admiration, love even. Light and adoration littered all over in the atmosphere.

“That’s cute, can you send me it?” Woah. The implications of that..

“Sure, on.. Kakao?” Wait, he’s really gonna get the Shen Ricky’s KakaoTalk.. Hold on you guys.. 

And thus marks their first text on KKT, a monumental day for the president and only resident of Rickyville. Surprisingly, he got to use some other conversation starters, ones that actually passed the Gunwook test of conversing. 

“Do you like video games?” Gyuvin asked out of the blue, starting to see the vision with the Cullen house.

“Uh, I played Roblox?”

“What. Really? What game?” Not the answer he was expecting honestly. The concept of Ricky being a Roblox player..

“Well, I liked Royale High.” 

“No way.. I thought you’d be a DTI player..” 

“DTI?” Ricky said, puzzled and sitting. Unfortunately, Gyuvin’s the only one really working on the house. Not that he minded, though.

“It means Dress to Impress, have you heard of it?”

“Oh yeah, Hao-ge told me to play ‘cause of my major,” He looked up, thinking, “But, I didn’t know where to go for clothing.. and the people were so mean, it’s all just so confusing and overwhelming..”

“Wow, I think  that was the longest sentence you’ve said this whole afternoon..”

“Yah.. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hehe, we can play sometime..” Gyuvin dodged the question.

“.. Sure!” Ricky thought about it for a moment, before deciding that Gyuvin really is harmless and as puppy-like as Hao said he was.

Despite their countless chatter, they actually made decent progress. It would’ve been faster if Ricky helped, though he’s happy to be the provider for their family (weird..). They both didn’t know it, but it’s already been at least two hours, and the Cullen house still isn’t finished on the inside. 

That’s when Gyuvin proposed a deep question, “Do you think the egg or the chicken came first?”

Ricky sat silent, thinking with a serious face. “I don’t know.. I don’t study geography..” 

“You mean anatomy?”

“No.. geography.. like, the study of how the Earth happened.” What is bro on? He should’ve been on this d- What? Gyuvin just got hacked.. mentally.

“I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.. Anatomy is like.. about the Earth’s different parts and countries.”

“Well, I think the chicken came first.”

“Okay, why?” Gyuvin asked.

“You tell me, explain how all animals came to being. That’s my answer, thank you.” 

“Damn, you got me. You’re smarter at anatomy..” Gyuvin conceded defeat. He was never gonna win against Ricky, anyway.

“Ahem,” Ricky cleared his throat (in tiny), “you mean geography.”

“Erm, no, actually! Anatomy.” Gyuvin did his signature ‘actually’ nerd impression, causing Ricky to giggle at the absurdity of it all.

..

Much to Gyuvin and Ricky (?)’s dismay, Matthew and Taerae eventually come back to their apartment. Boohoo, the party's over. It’s come to their attention that three and a half hours have already passed, somehow, it all felt natural for Gyuvin. They talked, a lot, and he actively felt himself grow closer and closer to Ricky as they kept chatting. Is that weird? 

Taerae and Matthew weren’t kicking them out, per se, but Matthew was politely asking them to leave his room. Which, actually meant he was kicking them out. It’s only 5 PM, yet he feels more fulfilled than he would if he was just gaming or doomscrolling the whole day.

It didn’t feel right to leave yet, but he could feel Ricky’s social battery dwindling slowly. 

“Um, I’ll see you around?” He offers Ricky a small smile, both of them standing outside the apartment door in their shoes, the sky an orange-purple hue.

“I’ll see you around.” Ricky smiled back, tilting his head slightly. Ricky left first, as his dorm was a bit farther away than Gyuvin’s. He walked back to campus dorms, looking back for when Ricky got in his car and ignited the engine, driving away into the distance. 

gyuvin @kimgyuvin_ 

🚬

DA BOYZ

hambin: gyuvinnie why have u been promoting cigarettes

OLDIE: 😟 Gyubbie..

child: he just wants to sound cool

mang(yu)o: be quiet child

gunWOKE: he had a point tho..

mang(yu)o: |<ys

muscledaddy69: he was having a dl earlier

OLDIE: What’s that?

child: downlow 

child: its when a straight man secretly has gay s*x

hambin: yujinnie how do you know that ?

gunWOKE: erm ok.

mang(yu)o: gunwook and matthew had sex on my bed

OLDIE: 😨

hambin: omg FINALLY CONGRATS YOU TWO

muscledaddy69: WTF WE DIDNT? I WOULD NEVER

gunWOKE: oh okay..

muscledaddy69: RIGHT WOOKIE??

gunWOKE: yeah of course

mang(yu)o: ummm…

child: what the sigma

hambin: erm

OLDIE: Matthew-ah.. Gunwook-ah…

GIRLS by aespa

lovelicky: i think i made a friend

tarae: OMG CONGRATS MY SWEET RICKY YOUVE GROWN UP SO WELL

tarae: THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION

zhanghaotopworldstar: damn and i thought i was supposed to b his mother hello..

Woongie: Glad Taerae didn’t overreact!

mashu: how do i stop the fucking-my-best-friend rumors

lovelicky: isnt it true?

mashu: KYS

zhanghaotopworldstar: is it gyuvinnie

lovelicky: yes hes nice

tarae: exactly me n hao have been saying u two wouldve been great friends

zhanghaotopworldstar: you just met gyuvin too though?

tarae: let me have my ‘i told you so’ moment

zhanghaotopworldstar: well i told you to douche for friday and u didnt and shat all over jiwoong. told u so

tarae: THAT NEVERH APPENED WHAT?

Woongie: I wouldn’t have complained either way.

lovelicky: can you guys not rn… 😿

mashu: ACTUALLY DIABOLICAL???/

..

Gyuvin and Ricky’s LEGO building session was around more than just a few hours, yet he still feels the adrenaline coursing through his veins. As such, he’s doing what any normal young adult would be doing, he scrolls on his social media platforms. He blatantly ignores the semi-viral video of his impromptu interview a couple days ago, just liking funny posts when he gets a notification. 

shenricky ☑️ • 2h 

🎵 SZA • saturn

(picture)

liked by hao.00 and others

shenricky ☑️ life in april lately

View all 109 comments

It was a photo dump, standard and safe. Pictures of the environment, the city, animals, all artistically. Gyuvin loved to see what Ricky’s been up to, and the end of the month posts definitely were up there in his list. There were a few standout photos: his ice cream cup that one fateful afternoon, and the last slide, a rare picture of Ricky smiling gummily, LEGO pieces scattered around, holding a figure and just having fun.

He thinks, knows, that’s his favorite photo of Ricky. He wants to be the one who makes him smile like spring, Gyuvin squeezes the pillow in between his airs, heart warming and bright. He likes the post, fading out of consciousness with a smile on his face.

Chapter Text

Instagram

mangyuvin_ liked your post. 

It's been a week since Ricky had first met Gyuvin. What started as lunch with Hao quickly branched out to an unlikely yet inevitable friendship. Unlikely in a way where without the intervention of their mutual friends, their union would never have had the push it needed to get the ball rolling. And it was surprising, how he felt comfortable enough to make idle chatter with this giant of a man, when he usually is chanting his wishes to go home like a mantra in his head.

The funny thing is how with every unplanned and impromptu meetup, Ricky finds himself anticipating more; a far cry from his usual recluse self. The Ricky from 2 months ago would most likely think his current thoughts were a result of manipulation and some strong ass hypnosis, with how he's reminiscing about lunch and LEGO building , of all things, activities his long-time friends already struggle to persuade him to do.

To be frank, it was nice to talk to someone your age. No offense to his hyungs, but the thing Ricky probably needed the most was a friend that wasn’t already a foot in the grave. He almost caught himself wanting to talk to others more. His extrovert friends were definitely brushing off on him, the thought makes him shudder.

Yet again, the only reason he doesn't have friends is because of his social awkwardness, a trait most don't expect from the cool and elegant facade he puts up. Not his fault his face card never declines, can’t a man have an unlimited face economy and be socially inept?

“Hello? Helloo, Earth to Ricky!” Hao waves his hand in front of Ricky, doing some obnoxiously loud finger snaps.

Ricky shook his head in a daze. “Huh, yeah?” He turned his attention to Hao, who was sitting next to him on his bed.

“Gyuvin-ie’s going viral on SNUtok..” Speak of the devil. At the mention of Gyuvin’s name, Ricky perks up, then backtracks whatever Hao just said. 

Ricky gives Hao a quizzical look. “What the hell is es-en-yu-tok..” And what did that have to do with Gyuvin?

Hao looked at him in disbelief, a look that screamed ‘what?’ “Seoul National University TikTok. Are you slow?”

“Wow, you wound me, ge.. How was I supposed to know that?” Ricky feigned hurt, dramatically putting a hand on his chest. “--Wait, Gyuvin? What about him?”

“Damn, maybe that crush wasn’t as unreciprocated as I thought..” Hao muttered to himself, like a soliloquy in a fuckass stage play. Genuinely, what did that even mean? What crush does he speak of? The nerve of this gay..

Ricky clicked his tongue. “What are you even talking about.” 

“Girl, don’t get mad at me. See for yourself!” Hao obnoxiously shoved his phone to Ricky’s face, comfortable in Ricky’s pillows, in Ricky’s bed in Ricky’s solo apartment. The nerve of gays.

Ricky reluctantly got closer, his shoulder meeting Hao’s. 

It was a man he recognized as Jinyoung (?) who was sitting next to Gyuvin, seemingly interviewing him. Okay? Didn’t know Gyuvin was a celebrity. Still don’t understand why Hao wanted to show him this.

“Anything to say about the recent allegations?” Jaeyoung (?) had said, with Gyuvin subtly freezing up and replying shortly. From the angle, only Jeongyeon (?)’s side profile was visible, leading Gyuvin to be the main attraction in the interview, as he should be.

“Recent allegations..?” Gyuvin replied shortly, after a pause. Ricky repeated to Hao, asking him what the deal was. Hao just annoyedly signed to the phone, a way of telling him to pay attention like it's an Oscar-winning film.

Jung (?) looked back at the camera, smirking slightly before turning back to Gyuvin. “ Really? You know.. something-something about a certain campus crush in Fashion?” Huh. Weird. All he knows is Gyuvin looked visibly uncomfortable, and he’s questioning if there was any consent to posting this clip.

“Haha,” Gyuvin laughed dryly, “just gotta say, AI has been getting crazy you guys..” Gyuvin looked at the camera, seemingly only noticing it then, as shown by his eyes widening.

The TikTok ending screen played, with the iconic tune at the end.

Silence. “..That was.. uncomfortable.” Ricky said randomly. Another uncomfortable thing about it was the 4 thousand likes the video held. Yikes, he kind of feels bad for Gyuvin, can’t let gays live in the big 25. Anyway, who is this crush they even speak of? Anybody Gyuvin has a crush on is probably a wonderful person.

“Right, he was going through it..” The other off-handedly commented. “Well, what do you have to say about it? You’re the man in question.” 

“What?” Ricky furrowed his eyebrows. “What do I have to do with this??” 

Hao jumped from his perch on the bed, lightly shoving Ricky back into his fort of pillows. “Yah! Were we even watching the same video!?”

The cogs in Ricky’s brain were visibly working overtime and he squinted at Hao like he was crazy. Then, it clicked. Oh.. “Was that.. about me?” 

“Huh..” Hao stilled, always one to have his emotions all over his face. “Yes? I thought you knew..”

What the hell? This is news to him. “That Gyuvin.. has an alleged crush on me?” Even saying those words felt unreal, there’s just no way.

“Yeah? You even seen-ed the whole incident in the chatroom.” 

“What? I don’t remember anything about that..” At this, Hao gasped dramatically, a hand over his mouth.

“No way.. this is so manhwa misunderstanding friends-to-lovers-coded..” The older blurted, scrolling frantically on his phone.

“Ge! Show me now!” Ricky whined, lightly hitting Hao in the shoulder.

“Here, here, damn.” Hao showed him his phone once again, the second time’s the charm they say. 

Ricky examined it, finding it to just be a tweet, until he read the contents. 

gyuvin ☆ ! @kimgyuvin_

didnt see loml today.. ricky 💔 our children are waiting…..

His face was blank and so were his thoughts. Ricky didn’t know what to make of this discovery, though there were some questions, alright. He’s,, flattered? 

“Have you really not seen this before?” Hao leaned in more, incredulous.

“I think I accidentally opened the chatroom while watching K-dramas..” He said truthfully, trying to recount the events of the past two-weeks, where he predictably was binging K-dramas every night. “Wait, so why’d you make us meet that one time for lunch?”

“Um, I wanted to set you two up? Duh.” Hao said matter-of-factly. “And if it didn’t work out, you guys would be friends!” He smiled at Ricky as if he didn’t sound insane. “And it worked, ‘cuz you two are friends now, right?”

“Okay.. I wouldn’t go that far..” Ricky paused. “Acquaintances? Sure.. but friends? I’d need to go out with him like I do with you and the others.”

“Well, will knowing this change anything?”

“.. I don’t think so, ge.” Ricky said after a pause. “I want to be friends.. I’m not sure if I’m looking for anything more.”

“I get it, it’s not like you responded in any way to validate his feelings.” 

Wait. Ricky thought about it, the date, the timing of it all, and froze.

“What?” Hao said cautiously, sensing the dilemma in Ricky’s head.

“I may or may not have liked his note that night.. after the exposé.” Ricky said sheepishly. Really, he just found the note funny. It was worlds apart from all his mutuals’ notes being edgy, aesthetic songs, all in an effort to ‘aurafarm.’ Ricky appreciates a sense of humor, well, he should, because he’s surrounded by drama queens and kings.

“Oh. my. God..” Hao screeched, half-giddy and mortified. All his manhwa tropes were probably getting fulfilled, with him as an active witness of all this unfolding.

“Ugh, I don’t wanna lead him on.. that’s so shitty..” 

“It should be fine.. Gyub-ie’s a nice guy, he’ll still be your friend even after you break it to him.” Hao said earnestly, patting him on the shoulder before going on a tangent about the ‘tea’ Hanbin spilled about his dance club’s freshmen.

Hao’s words started to fade into obscurity, as Ricky deeply thought about what to do as if he was either to win the lottery or get sent to suffer an eternal damnation. 

“Hello! Not this again, Rui!” The mention of his nickname brought him back from yet another daze.

“Sorry. Was thinking about what to do.” Hao nodded, immediately understanding what he meant. 

“Why don’t you just text him about it? I mean, invite him for something.” Hao shivered. “Saying that over text is kinda a dick move.. besides, you said you wouldn’t befriend anybody you haven’t hung out with like us.”

“True..” Ricky brought a pillow to his face. “Ugh, I’ll text him now. I’m so scared.” He said with a straight face. Oh Shen Ricky, the comedian you are . He mentally pats himself on the back.

“Woah, are you already leaving the I club? I knew it.. you were an E all along..” Hao exclaimed, referring to the MBTI classifications.

“In what world would I be an E?” Ricky rolled his eyes at Hao’s accusation of his claimed extraversion. 

He pulled out his phone, snuggling into Hao as he nervously drafted a message for Gyuvin.

shenricky: hello

shenricky: hhhheyy

shenricky: 🐱

shenricky: im not into you sorry

shenricky: we can be friends thoguh!!

“What? What are you waiting for?” Hao said, annoyed at Ricky’s inaction.

“I’m thinking.” To this, Hao immediately took hold of his phone, much to Ricky’s multiple protests, and types out something quick before the inevitable nyang-nyang punch comes. To his dismay, his fist is a little-too-late, as Hao has already sent the dreaded message. Despite that, Ricky's still well pleased with Hao's dramatic scream of agony at being hit at the back.

kimgyuvin

shenricky: hey

“YAH! HAO-GE!” Hao giggled at Ricky, who famously never yells under any circumstance. Hao wasn’t laughing for long, because he was then exaggeratedly curling into himself and rubbing his back like he got assaulted, ravaged, and spit out like bones.

“Oh my God. How do I salvage this..” Surely he could unsend the message.. right? It had only been a few seconds–

kimgyuvin: hi ricky!

kimgyuvin: yes?

Shit. Shibal. Fuck Gyuvin for being an extrovert, fuck Hao for being a rat, fuck his face card for making his potential-friend love him. In fairness, Ricky should've expected Gyuvin's reply. He’s probably always expecting a message, with his unnecessarily large hands, tall stature, and boy-next-door aesthetic. (Not that Ricky doesn’t get any messages, they’re usually either from crazy fangirls or creepy men.)

shenricky: are you free next week? 

kimgyuvin: of course

shenricky: let’s go out for lunch

shenricky: thursday

kimgyuvin: YES!

kimgyuvin: i mean sure ! 

Woah. Was he actually the secret extrovert? Hao looked over his shoulder and hugged him tightly saying, “You did it!” like he got accepted into Harvard despite abysmal grades.

“I did.. I can’t.. that was so scary..” Ricky hunched over himself, grabbing the same pillow and hugging it tightly as the tension in his body fades. Maybe he’s being dramatic, but you know the saying: you can’t spell ‘dramatic’ without Ricky.

“I’m so proud of you, baby.. for not being a loner..” Hao cooed, wrapping his arms around Ricky too. 

“What the hell? Did you have to add the last part?” Ricky sighed, breaking free from the embrace to reach for his IPad and promptly pulling up a new K-drama, ignoring whatever lies on his phone.

..

Thursday came faster than a degenerate male.

Ricky regrets it. Bad. Regrets taking Hao’s advice and asking Gyuvin out for lunch, regrets having to wake up earlier to sort out an outfit for the day before his morning classes start. To say the very least, it was an all-out war. 

Clothes on every possible surface in his rooms, articles of clothing missing their hangers, Ricky practically had to sweep clothes away to traverse the grounds. Nevertheless, he would not be Ricky if he didn’t triumph over this insurmountable adversary. 

Though it was a treacherous one, it was a journey won, with him opting for a simple light pink cardigan and white dress pants. He doesn’t wear anything underneath the cardigan, because he’s risqué like that, kidding! He wore a white tank top under that, he’s no common-whore (no shame though, girls support girls!).

It was casual, something that was different from his normally all-black closet, yet unclashing to his regular school clothing. Lest he forget, he still had his academics to fret about back at school.

So, here he is, sitting inside a quaint café, at the plans he made when he was feeling extroverted. If Ricky could go back in time, he should’ve thrown Hao out the window before the elder said anything. The café was busy, with students amok; the typical lunch rush hour. Despite it, Ricky was fully lost in his thoughts, the idle background chatter fading into white noise.

Ricky sighed, finding himself doing that more often. Must be an effect of hanging around oldies, sorry not sorry, Jiwoong-hyung and Hao-ge!

…Or it was the effect of having a possible best friend for life who wants you to be more than just a possible best friend for life.

Anywho, he’s waiting for Gyuvin, who excused himself to the restroom about 8 minutes ago. He busies himself on his phone, cursing out his ge.

GIRLS by aespa

lovelicky: ge be wary of a truck coming at you when you cross the street in 3 hours and 2 minutes from now on.

zhanghaotopworldstar: oh!

tarae: now whats this abt @zhanghaotopworldstar

zhanghaotopworldstar: oh!

zhanghaotopworldstar: idkk u guys.. i just wanted our lovelicky to socialize 💔

lovelicky: your lovelicky just got STOOD UP 😿

mashu: WHAT ACTUALLY? WERENT U W GYUVIN?

Woongie: 😨 He will be scolded for this.

zhanghaotopworldstar: girl r u fo real…

tarae: oouu girl its always these fuckass ice cream men #ICK

lovelicky: im joking ♥️

lovelicky: hes just been in the restroom for awhile..

Woongie: Oh okay

tarae: 🙄

mashu: ricky.. when i catch you ricky.. when i catch you ricky.. ricky when i catch you ricky..

mashu: its either he’s shitting his pants cuz of u or he escaped thru the window.. cuz of u

lovelicky: yeah i tend to have that effect on people 😻

tarae: i think rickys been talking to hao too much..

Woongie: Is that a bad thing? Confidence is good!

zhanghaotopworldstar: aww stormi you look just like mommy 🥰

lovelicky: wait hes back

Ricky puts his phone down when he sees Gyuvin, ignoring the incessant notification pings. 

“Hey.” Gyuvin slid into the seat across from him. They were sitting on a small, tasteful and rounded table with two seats. It was by a window, and choosing this particular seat in an already aesthetic and busy café was one of his best works.

“Hey.” He said, moving his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his intertwined hands. 

“How was your morning?” Gyuvin asked, the silence beginning to stretch before he spoke.

“It was fine..” He simply said, before adding, “what about you?” as an obligatory response.

“It’s fine as well.” Well, Gyuvin didn’t seem to be faring very well in the conversation-starter department either.

“.. That’s nice.” Damn. Socializing is hard. Talking is hard. Life is hard. Ricky should end it all right then and there. Is he ruining the vibe? He’s totally ruining the vibe. “How was your last class?” He said, cringing at the awkwardness. If this conversation starter flops, may God take him right then and there.

“Oh.” Gyuvin said, surprised. Was Ricky really that awkward for him to be expecting nothing in a conversation? “It was fine, my first few classes were so boring, like my professor was yappin’ on about–”

Hook, line, sinker. Phew, he’s truly a genius. Truthfully, Ricky couldn’t absorb any of the story Gyuvin was telling, just relieved that he activated the natural flow of extraversion in Gyuvin.

“So yeah, and it’s kinda funny ‘cuz–” Gyuvin paused, seeing Ricky’s dazed expression. “Sorry.. Did I talk too much?” He said, sinking into himself and looking up at Ricky like a kicked puppy. The power those glistening puppy eyes hold.. Ricky shivers inwardly.

“No, it’s fine!” Ricky lightly slammed his hand on the table. “I was just distracted, sorry, you can keep going.” 

To this, Gyuvin brightened up again and, instead of continuing, asked him a question. “What about you? How were your classes?” 

“Um.. nothing much, before this I was at–”

“Fashion technology.” Gyuvin blurted, confident in his answer.

“Yeah, fashion technology...” Ricky paused. “Wait, how did you know?” 

“Oh.. lucky guess?” Gyuvin brought an arm to the back of his head, rubbing it sheepishly. He gave Ricky that half-smile he finds Gyuvin often doing when he’s nervous and awkward.

“.. Okay, anywho, the only thing that really happened was class ending early.” Ricky placed both his elbows on the table, resting on his intertwined fingers in a triangular shape, his signature pose, as his friends dubbed it as. “Speaking of which, aren’t you a bit too early? I came over here the moment class ended, so..”

“Yeah.” Gyuvin said, trance-like as he blankly stared into Ricky’s eyes. 

“What?” Ricky titled his head, a puzzled look on his face.

“Sorry. I think class went well..” Did he even hear what Ricky said?

“You think?”

“I skipped it.” Gyuvin deadpanned.

“Oh. Why?”

Gyuvin stilled, inhaled deeply before essentially rapping:

“.. My dog ran out the door before class so I chased it and it led me here but the moment we got here it ate my bag and keys so I couldn’t go home and ran back home–” 

He gasped for air,

“but since I was already here I just decided to wait for you and not go to class instead ‘cuz I don’t have a bag anymore and I can’t enter my apartment without my roommate and.. yeah.”

Gyuvin frantically waved his arms around, belaboring in such a way that really didn’t make sense. So much so that Ricky started laughing, a hand on his mouth in a futile attempt in silencing his giggles.

“What was..” Ricky heaved, trying to get a word out that only ended in a fit of more giggles.

For a moment, Gyuvin just said nothing, just blankly watching Ricky as he laughed. The other stared at Ricky, an unreadable expression in his eyes. Ricky, noticing the other’s silence, began to calm down from his fit.

There was something in the air; a tension, but Ricky’s unsure of what to call it, though he had his guesses from the revelation that morning. And if Ricky notices the way Gyuvin’s eyes focused a bit too hard on his lips, he didn’t mention it. Must’ve been his head.

Bzz!

The buzzer, well, buzzed on the table, signalling that their order was ready. Gyuvin wasted no time, standing up immediately. “I’ll get it for us!” 

Ricky wasn’t even able to reply before he ran off, his mouth just open in an attempt to protest. He huffed, slightly annoyed at being left. Yet, his eyes still gazed towards the cashier counter, waiting for Gyuvin. 

In less than a minute, he sees the silhouette of a familiar tall and lanky man, his eyes blurry from unfocus. He snaps back, fixing his posture and clearing his throat.

“Ricky?” Gyuvin placed the tray on the table, the smell of freshly cooked food flooding his senses. Gyuvin ordered a 

“Uh, yeah?” Ricky took his plate from the tray and was placing his carbonara and strawberry smoothie on his side of the table. 

“Did I forget to pay..? Or do we get the bill later..” Gyuvin had said concerned, taking his own plate and drink.

“Um..” There was no way he was gonna tell Gyuvin he paid for it. Why? He doesn’t know, though for some reason, he’s determined to keep it a secret. “They just give us the bill later..” He said, 

Gyuvin just gave him a weird look and started spacing out again. This is it, the perfect opportunity, the sole reason he even was meeting Gyuvin on this day. “Operation: Let Him Down Slowly.”

“Gyuvin?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re just.. friends right?” 

“Oh.” Gyuvin paused. Uh oh. That can’t be good. “Yeah!” He said, more enthusiastic than he expected. Was letting him down slowly really gonna be that easy? What’s good about only being friends with your crush? Then again, Ricky wouldn’t know anything about crushes.

“Okay, friends?” Ricky jokingly extended his pinky finger.

“Friends.” Gyuvin beams at him, actually taking his pinky finger and intertwining them. He can’t say why, but it felt electrifying. Like a warm hug enveloping his soul. It sounds crazy, and overly dramatic, though who’s to say he never was?

He slowly retracted his hand away, Gyuvin’s gaze lingering on him with that same indiscernible look. Ricky cleared his throat, looking away shyly.

“So.” 

“Yes, best friend?” Gyuvin shook his head, slipping back into his normal, bubbly self. Order has been restored!

“Now, you're moving too fast.. Let's take it slow.” Ricky feigns annoyance, putting on an annoyed expression before playfully smiling. He picks up his cutlery, lifting the fork and twisting in the carbonara he's ordered. Yes, carbonara, for lunch. Sue him, call it his inner-American.

Gyuvin laughs boyishly, loud and violent, slamming on the table and shaking in laughter. He doesn't think Gyuvin notices the red in Ricky's ears.

..

“So.” Gyuvin sipped on his mango smoothie before continuing, “Strawberry, huh?” 

Ricky raises an eyebrow. “.. Yes? And you’re having mango.”

“Exactly! Mango and strawberry, don’t they go well together?”

“Sure, but it’s strawberry and mango.”

“Nuh-uh, mangoes go first..”

“And that’s because?” Ricky quipped, not tolerating any slander towards his clearly more superior fruit and flavor.

Gyuvin smirked. Ricky gave him a look. “ Because~ ” He dragged. “It’s the better fruit!”

“Are you sure about that.” Ricky said, more stating than questioning.

“Well, who has the better smoothie?”

“I hope you know you’re on your last straw-berry,” Ricky’s lips twitched. “because you’re ‘bout to see a man-go leave your ass.” He raised a fist threateningly (though Gyuvin would beg to differ).

Gyuvin thought for a moment, the joke flying over his head, then started uncontrollably laughing. “You know? You’re really funny. I think I’ve found my new best friend.”

Ricky rolled his eyes, turned his head away. The small smile doesn’t escape Gyuvin’s notice.

..

“Okay, should we get the bill?” Gyuvin sighed, sinking into the chair as he dramatically rubbed his stomach.

“Um.. Qubing..” 

“Gyuvin.”

“Yeah, yeah. Qubing..”

“.. Yes?”

“There’s no bill..” 

Gyuvin blinked. “Ricky..? Are you thinking of dine-dashing right now..?” He said warily, like he was approaching a scared cat.

“What? No!” 

“Huh? Then what do you mean?? Is there a free meal for students or?”

“Gyuvin, no! I paid for the meal!” Ricky exclaimed.. in lowercase, of course. Shen Ricky would never be caught yelling. Ricky said, as if it were a heartfelt confession, as if he were pushing a letter towards Gyuvin under a sunset-lit sakura tree, giving his all to one letter summarizing his deepest and truest feelings. 

When Gyuvin heard that, he heard the equivalent of: ‘Katniss, there is no District 12..’ and his world crashed. “Ricky..”

“Gyuvin..” Ricky chuckled awkwardly. This was the equivalent of rejecting a guy only to get chased down and hunted. Girls, stay safe.

“What’s your bank account number?” Gyuvin smoothly pulled out his phone, typing something.

“It’s 08302004-.. Wait.. what?” 

“Thanks, transferred!” Gyuvin showed him an e-receipt on his phone, a grin on his face like he won the lottery.

“Gyuvin!” He abruptly stood up from his seat, garnering a few stares from other tables. Oops. He sits down, a pout on his face. “Take it back! You sent too much!” 

“Nope!” 

“Fine." Ricky sighed. "Bank account number?”

“052020- Wait. I’m not falling for that!” Gyuvin puffed his chest out smugly. “I won’t fall for my own tricks, Rwick!”

Rwick, huh? Ricky could get used to that sound.

..

Lunch was supposed to be a quick ordeal, chatter shared over a comfy and hearty meal. Yet, it’s been an hour and a half, with Gyuvin showing no signs of stopping his yap session. Even after they left the café, Gyuvin escorting Ricky to his car, he was still talking about everything and anything.

“This is it.” Ricky said, standing in front of a sleek, black BMW. 

“Woah, that’s a really nice car.” Gyuvin walked forward, admiring the car model.

Wait. It’d be a total dick move if he just left Gyuvin to walk home after such a friendship-strengthening lunch. If Ricky had half the guts an extrovert had, he would’ve offered a ride immediately. Unfortunately for him, he’s still mentally preparing himself when he says-

“Do you wanna see the interior?” That was smooth. Is what he would say if he didn’t stutter halfway, fumbling for an excuse to drive Gyuvin home. 

“Sure.” To which, Ricky walked over to the passenger’s side and opened the door for Gyuvin, a hand extended as an invitation. “Ooh, thank you, my gentleman.” Gyuvin jokingly took his hand and got in the passenger’s seat. That shouldn’t have made Ricky’s heart sound like a train.

Ricky closed the door, getting in the driver’s seat next to Gyuvin. 

“That’s so cool, I don’t know why I didn’t expect the black, but it suits you!” Gyuvin was touching the car seating, feeling the velvety leather through his fingertips. It had a nice atmosphere, tinted windows, a silver, gothic cross hanging at the front of the front window. 

It was so Ricky. That is to say, cool Ricky and loser Ricky. If it weren’t for the cute stickers littered throughout the dashboard. It would’ve been an aura loss, though Gyuvin thinks Ricky has never Ricky’d harder. 

“Mhm.” Ricky wordlessly starts the engine, alerting an unsuspecting Gyuvin.

“Ricky?!” Gyuvin grabbed onto his seat, fumbling with the seatbelt in a panic. Ricky only kept driving, right hand on the wheel. “Where are you taking me! Is this a kidnap!?” 

“.. Home.” Ricky said, emotionally staring into the distance like he was Dakota Johnson in How to be Single.

“What?” Gyuvin didn’t seem to understand, just confused and shocked at the blatant kidnapping.

Ricky ended up giving Gyuvin a consensual-non-consensual ride home. Safe to say, Gyuvin didn’t look very happy about being kidnapped. Something about ‘wasting’ Ricky’s gas or whatever. Apparently, hanging out with somebody that has a crush on you could be fun. 

..

“How was lunch?” Gunwook had randomly said, the sounds of cutlery hitting plates echoing in the cafeteria. 

Gyuvin tilted his head, confused. “I mean. It’s good, yeah. If that’s what you’re asking?” He said, aggressively pointing at his food with the ‘who made this?’ gesture.

Gunwook only scoffed in response. “No, idiot. I meant your lunch with Ricky!”

He recoiled, not expecting to hear the sacred name come out of a bear-rat’s mouth. Utterly disrespectful to his lord and savior. Gyuvin’s lucky everybody else at their table was busy with whatever discussion they had going on, because if his not-date with Ricky got exposed.. Gunwook, keep your eyes open at night.

“Yeah.. well..” He trailed off.

Gunwook imitated a game announcer’s voice, “Did you finish lunch?.. Or did lunch finish you?”

Gyuvin took a breath, had a bite of his sandwich and blankly stated, “I finished during lunch.”

“DUDE. WHAT THE FUCK!” Gunwook got up from his chair, muttering something in his hand. He got a few looks of confusion, causing quite the commotion with his sudden outburst.

“Gunwook-ie, sit down. What was that about?”

“.. Nothing.” 

“Wookie just does that!” Matthew spoke, bright and sunny as he should be.

“Does what?” He asked, curious of what shape or form Gunwook’s fakeass personality takes in front of his crush.

Matthew smiled eerily. “Scream.” 

“Oh..” Gyuvin didn’t need to hear that. Gunwook looked away, blushing.

“Hyung!” Gunwook stammered. “He meant that I’m really loud!”

“Wooks, I love you but.. man, you don’t need to be saying all that here..” Hanbin sighed, putting down his fork.

“N-NO! I CAN EXPLAIN!” Gunwook flailed his arms around, staring back-and-forth to all his friends, who really didn't have the patience to deal with this right now.

“We don’t need to hear any of it…” It was a running joke in their group, making fun of Gunwook with innuendos about Matthew, who always stayed oblivious no matter what. Unfortunately, the youngest of their group (not the child) never found it funny. Probably because he’s getting the short end of the stick with his crush. Poor dude.. wait. That sounds familiar?

“What’s wrong with screaming, though? I’m a loud person!”

“Wrong context…” Gyuvin said, holding back a giggle before a notification interrupted him.

Ding!

Instagram

@shenricky posted on Instagram.

Gyuvin jumps in his seat, startling the others. “Yah, Gyuvin-ah.. Focus on your food!” Hanbin chastises him teasingly, sitting beside him.

They were having lunch at the school cafeteria, having a riveting discussion about an up-coming before Gyuvin suddenly decided to retract himself from the narrative. 

Jiwoong put on a stern tone. “Gyuvin-ah, what did I tell you? No phones at the dining table.” He jokingly said, doing his best dad-like impression. Definitely a daddy. What? Who said that?

“Hyung, you don’t even go here!” Matthew exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at Jiwoong. Gunwook only laughed from his seat next to Matthew, clapping and cheering like a dolphin. Not like he does anything else but glaze Matthew.

“Uh, yes I do? I’m an alumni.” Jiwoong crossed his arms, stating it matter-of-factly. 

Gyuvin rubbed his temple, the action eliciting a giggle from Hanbin. Is this how it felt to be around annoying rats? Gyuvin wouldn’t have known, as he usually is the one causing these headaches. How dare they interrupt this holy moment of Rickyville.

“You can’t sit with us! Campus rules, infiltrator!”

Then Jiwoong said the four most catastrophic words, “And you’re not spiderman!” 

Everyone gasped, promptly turning to see Matthew’s reaction to see pure despair, followed by silence. Horrified looks from everyone at the table. Oh no.. Matthew dramatically covered his face with two hands.

“Jiwoon-hyung.. how could you..” He faked a sob.

Gyuvin rolls his eyes. Matthew's been getting a bit too good at fake crying for his liking, remembering how many times he's been manipulated by those crocodile tears.

“I didn't mean it..” Jiwoong put a hand on his chest.

“You did.. You're not sorry!!” Then Matthew removed his hands from his face, a big hearty smile on his mouth that caused everybody to laugh. Except for Gyuvin, who was admiring Ricky's post that had him (!!) in it. And by him, he meant his shoulder.. His shoulder was in Ricky's picture. Lord bless his soul. 

It was just a picture of their meal, the darkwood interior framing the café and most importantly, his shoulder. A big deal for the one and only resident-president of Rickyville. 

“Chat, is it soft-launching if they post your shoulder on IG?” Gyuvin said, mouth half-full.

“Chat thinks you should shut up and eat.” Gunwook commented snarkily. Damn, why was Gyuvin catching strays? He'll show Gunwook.

“Yeah? Matthew.” 

Gunwook visibly froze at the mention of the other's name, a hand rubbing at his neck. Ha. 

“Yes? Matthew chirped, his attention called.

“I-It’s nothing, Mashu-hyung.. Gyuvin was just saying something.” Gunwook stammered, his face easily turning a light shade of pink.

“And that something has to do with me? C'mon, just tell me~” Matthew whined, giving Gunwook a petulant look.

“You see.. Gunwook just had something to say to you-” Gyuvin started before he got aggressively kicked under the table. “--YEEEOOUUCH!!” He comically yelped.

“Ahem. What he meant to say is that I wanted to ask you something about.. erm.. Pokémon.” 

Wow. Nice save, I guess.. Gyuvin rolled his eyes, before going back to admiring his shoulder in Ricky's post.

“Is that Ricky?” Hanbin looked over his shoulder.

Gyuvin jumped. “W-what? No! It's just somebody I stumbled upon on IG..” Yeah, like anybody was gonna believe that. He's so cooked.

“I'm pretty sure that's your shoulder.. posted by a.. oh, Ricky?” Hanbin’s face morphed into one of surprise. “No way.. are you two..”

“Friends?” “Dating??” Gyuvin and Hanbin blurted out at the same time, respectively.

“What? No! Why would we be dating?!” Gyuvin spurted, disbelief laced in his tone.

“Well.. it's not like your secret crush is much of a secret..” Hanbin started. "And you happen to be in his post? Logical reasoning." Damn, the psych major in Hanbin really doesn't show until times like these.

“When you put it like that..” He hates how Hanbin was right. All of this because he forgot to swap to his private account. 

“No shame in courtship, though. Bring back chivalry.” Jiwoong unexpectedly said, startling Gyuvin. Turns out their private conversation in the midst of a bustling cafeteria wasn’t so private after all.

“I get the sentiment, hyung.. but me? And Ricky? He’s in a whole ‘nother league..” Here he goes again, ruining the mood. Gyuvin really didn’t want to rain on everybody’s parade, seeming as the table fell silent once again, 

“Yah. Gyuvin-ie, don’t say that about yourself.” Hanbin sternly said, putting a hand on Gyuvin’s shoulder. Gunwook and Matthew both reach for his hand across the table, and it shouldn’t have been so heartwarming as it was. 

“Besides, you and Ricky are friends now, aren’t you?” Jiwoong said, slow and steady like a rock in a river.

“.. Yeah. I guess there really isn’t much to worry about.. I’m just a bit..”

“Insecure?” A voice snarked, sounding robotic.

“What the hell..” It was Yujin, on FaceTime, from Matthew’s phone.

“Sorry, our kid got FOMO.” Matthew chuckled, waving the phone around with his baby brother’s adorably angry face.

“Sure. Whatever.” Gyuvin rolled his eyes, the mood settling back into a lighthearted one. He can’t tell if it was for worse or for better. Regardless, at least he knows he has the support of his friends.

Jiwoong turned to him again from his seat. “Say, why don’t you join us for Ricky’s party this month?” 

“Yeah! All of us are going!.. Except Yujin, of course.”

“Why can’t I go!!” Yujin sulkily whined from over the line.

“You’re a kid, kid.” Gunwook said, lips upturned knowingly.

“Yah! We’re two years apart!” 

“Yeah, yeah, who’s in uni right now?”

“Kill yourself.” Yujin deadpanned.

Hanbin gasped. “Yujin-ah!” 

“What have you been teaching Yujin?!” Jiwoong turned to Gyuvin, an accusatory look on his face.

“Erm.. I don’t teach him anything..”

“Yeah, I just hear and copy whatever he says when he plays League.”

“Be quiet.” Now why’s Yujin airing out his business like that? It’s not his fault his ADC always sucks ass. 

“Anyway, what do you say?” Gunwook asked, leaning over the table and resting on his arms on the table. That man’s never gonna beat the anime girl allegations.

“.. Sure.”

“Yay! Besides, all of us know Ricky either way, it’ll be fun!” Matthew cheered, ever the positive beam of sunshine. Gunwook’s look-of-love at Matthew doesn’t escape Gyuvin’s eyes. Death to all gays.

“Fine, fine. When is it?” 

“Um.. in about.. two weeks.” Jiwoong said with an apologetic smile.

“Man, what type of party gets announced two weeks ahead? What’s next? There’s a dress code and theme or what? Met-gala type shit?” 

“A birthday party apparently.” Gunwook dropped the bomb.

“Oh..” That’s a lot to take in. Thinking of going to his crush’s party is crazy work..

“So, I trust you’ll be donning your best garments?” Matthew off-handedly said with a sad excuse of a British accent, causing Hanbin to topple over and laugh obnoxiously.

“Yes.. It’s on. Like donkey-”

“KONG!” Yujin’s scream came out as a robotic mess from the other line. 

..

“Soo.. How was it?” Hao said, splayed across Ricky’s bed one lazy afternoon. 

Taerae, who was scrolling through his phone on the floor, said. “Yeah, how was this so-called date?” 

“You guys are so weird.” Ricky continued writing his essay, sitting on his desk chair as he worked. His lack of interest apparently irks Hao, as the upturn of his mouth morphed into one of deviousness.

Hao, not one to tolerate a dry response, started. “Apparently Gyuvin-ie said you guys had some crazy ass rough sex..” Taerae made a sound of shock at Hao’s random lie. "Like you were upside down and he was plunging into your hol-"

“What.” Ricky stood up, walking up to the bed and staring down on Hao, who was lounging between the blankets like a chrysalis cocoon. 

“He didn’t say anything of the sorts, but it’s fun to see how you react!” Hao stuck his tongue out.

Without a word, Ricky leaned down to pick up a pillow and repeatedly smacked Hao. 

“YAH! TAERAE!! HELPP!!!” Hao yelped helplessly, half-laughing and half-screaming. Taerae peeked his head from where he was on the floor, elevating his eyesight to bed-level. 

“Erm.. Well, you did that to yourself..” 

Ricky huffed. letting go of the pillow and crashing onto the bed next to a panting and worn-out Hao. “You..” He heaved. “Are.. sick in the head for that..”

“And you aren’t? For blatantly lying!”

“Okay, but I did that to get a reaction.. there’s a difference!” Hao waved his arms around defensively, the two still laying down next to each other. 

“Now who’s birthday month is it?” 

“Um. Mine.. In two months!” Hao said, tongue out cheekily.

Taerae flopped his head on the bed. “Mine too! July is not ready for us, right twin?”

“So true, queen. Here, you dropped your crown.” Hao patted Taerae on the head, flipping over on his stomach. Taerae purred. This weird homoerotic-two-gay-best-friends thing they have going on is actually sick work.

Ricky gave them a stare. “Two dumb bitches telling each other ‘exactly.’” 

Hao stared back with indignance. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that 12-inch dragon dildo under your bed..”

“WHAT?” Taerae screeched, Ricky jumping at the abruptness. “Oh my god.. Ricky.. I didn’t know you got down like that?” Taerae teased. Ricky can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or not. These hoes are gonna be so insufferable during pride month..

“HYUNG!” Ricky yelled, a rare occurrence. The world is ending. “You know that isn’t true! Look!” Ricky got up, shoving his arm and sweeping it around the underside of his bed. “Nothing!”

“What if.. it’s been inside you all along..” Taerae gasped, Hao hunching over himself in laughter.

“Bitch. You’re both uninvited.”

“NO!”

..

The two weeks pass by in a blur, and before he knows it, Gyuvin’s armored up and ready to go to war. If he weren’t, it’d be embarrassing, when he’s had the past few days to lay down and reflect on what the hell he’s doing with his life.

Going to your ex-crush-but-love-of-your-life’s birthday party? Not the smartest move he’s done. But hey, if you think about it, by being around Ricky in a more friendlier way, he’ll eventually get over his undying love for him. Call that exposure therapy.

shenricky

shenricky: hi gyuvin

shenricky: are you coming tonight?

Most certainly won't be the only thing coming tonight.. kidding!

Gyuvin bites his lip, nervously looking around from the backseat of Matthew’s car. Gyuvin and company were on the way to Ricky’s house, the venue for his birthday party. He nervously rubbed his hand on the strings of the paper bag he brought, inside was a letter and a small, dainty strawberry phone charm. 

“You okay, bro?” Gunwook asked from next to him, looking up from his phone to face Gyuvin after being silent the whole ride there. Gunwook was in between Jiwoong and Gyuvin respectively at the back seat.

“Yeah.. just nerves, I guess?”

“C’mon, it’s not like you’re proposing.” Matthew teased, though, Gyuvin didn’t find it very funny, earning him an eyeroll that he knew the older couldn’t see from the passenger’s seat.

“What if he did?” Jiwoong mused, reading a book. Matthew grumbled from the front, despite Jiwoong’s comment not even being targeted at him. 

“Yeah? Still don’t know why you’re coming to Ricky’s party..” 

“Hey! Don’t act like me and Ricky aren’t in the same chatroom!” Jiwoong snapped back. “I’m more than welcome to Ricky’s house, that, by the way, I’ve actually been to.”

“And.. so have I!” Matthew stuck out his tongue.

“No, you haven’t.” Jesus, does Jiwoong sure sound like a stern dad. 

Matthew stood silent for a beat. “Um.. you can’t prove that.”

“C’mon Mashu, just let it go. In any case, we’re almost there!” Hanbin yelled, manning the wheel.

“Yah! Why was I the one reprimanded?! What about Jiwoon!....-hyung..”

“Exactly, he’s older than me. Don’t have anything to say.” Hanbin chuckled, taking a curious glance at a pouty Matthew when he heard a few sobs. Fake ass bitch.

Gyuvin quite literally has been dissociating since the start of the conversation. Not a single thing going through his mind, it’s Ricky’s night and he’s fucking scared for his life. His phone still displayed the text message, Gyuvin shook, realizing he hadn't responded in over.. 6 minutes.

shenricky

kimgyuvin: uh yeah im coming

Gunwook studied Gyuvin’s phone, watching him write, delete, then rewrite his message before sending the last and final one. “Yeah, you wish you were coming inside something.. or someone, mayhaps?” 

Gyuvin smacked him on the shoulder. “You’re fucking sick, bro.. What the hell?!”

“Notice how Gyuvin didn’t deny it..” Gunwook fake gasped after. Gyuvin put his gift to the side before he started assaulting (tickling) his seatmate.

“HHEEELPP!!--” Gunwook yelped before the car abruptly stopped, finally seeing Ricky’s house slash mansion in all its glory, the hectic congregation of people walking around.

“This is it..” Gyuvin braced himself, retracting his hands from Gunwook’s sides to do the sign of the cross gesture and breathing deep.

“Dramatic ass hoe.” Gunwook quipped. He was so gonna get wrestled later.

..

GIRLS by aespa

zhanghaotopworldstar: GIRL WHERE ARE YOU @lovelicky

Woongie: Ricky’s probably entertaining the guests. By the way, I just got here!

zhanghaotopworldstar: NO LIKE HES LITERALLY NOT IN HIS HOUSE

lovelicky: aha…

tarae: girl wtf do u mean ure not at ur own party..

lovelicky: yyyyeah im at my apartment.. my house sounds really hectic rn..

mashu: bro i just got here too and u arent even here?? imagine the peoples disappointment..

lovelicky: the people are there for the food and drinks not me

lovelicky: let a man enjoy their birthday in PEACE

mashu: ure right. i wont greet u yet cuz i wanna do it in person

zhanghaotopworldstar: yeah fake ass hoe u js didnt greet him midnight

tarae: sorry not EVERYONE can stay up until midnight for a fuckass greeting

lovelicky: oh im seeing ur priorities kim tarae.. fakie.

Woongie: Staying up past midnight is common courtesy for greetings. 

lovelicky: u didnt greet me either 

Woongie: Well.

Woongie: I was busy.. Happy Birthday?

tarae: yep. busy. at midnight. 😛 💦

lovelicky: get out

…

By the time Gyuvin and company have arrived at the house, the party has long been set in motion; unfamiliar faces prancing around with red plastic cups and obnoxiously loud 2000s music.

He stepped in, the smell of sweat and liquor flooding his senses, with emphasis on the aforementioned loud ass music. Their group already separated, unsurprising with the way he had to practically cut through the sea of bodies.

“Hey, Gyuvin!” An unfamiliar voice called out.

Gyuvin turned back, taking a tentative look at the stranger.

“Looking for Ricky? Dunno if he’s willing to entertain you on his big day, though.” The stranger’s friend laughed, loud and piercing despite the music. What the hell was their problem?

“Haha.” Gyuvin chuckled flatly, turning around and searching for his friends. The nerve of some people, honestly.

It took about 10 minutes of sitting in a corner and drinking his fruit punch like a sad, lonely loser before he got up and decided to party. By party, he meant to awkwardly sway to ‘Slave 4 U’ by Britney Spears, despite being a part of the dance club alongside his best friends, looking lost with juice in hand.

Matthew tapped on Gyuvin’s shoulder from behind. “Gyubbie-bro, Ricky isn’t here yet.”

“What?” Gyuvin whipped his head towards Matthew, unable to hear, with how loud the music playing was.

“I said.” Matthew took in a big breath. “Ricky isn't here yet!!”

“What. Why?” Gyuvin yelled back.

“I dunno!!”

The party randomly started getting even louder, people loudly cheering for some odd reason. Gyuvin turned to the commotion, realizing that Ricky must've gotten there when they started singing ‘Happy Birthday’ accompanied by a very questionable remix of the classic song. It seems the star of the show has arrived. But, Seriously though, who the hell was this DJ?

Right on queue, the people parted around Ricky like he was Moses and the river, having a moment of eye contact with the birthday boy. Gyuvin’s eyes widened when their eyes met, as if he were having a ‘I finally found you’ anime moment. It was that serious… No, it wasn’t that serious or deep. He has a crush.

He cleared his throat, like Ricky could even hear it, and walked away when he felt a few too many prying stares on him. Back to the corner he goes.

..

It’s been 3 hours since then. 3 hours and all he’s done is text his friends (who’ve already gone home), watch some reels, and admire the interior–something he never really paid attention to under the party circumstance. 

The house slash mansion’s interior was strikingly elegant, white walls with black and gold accents galore. If it weren’t for the neon party lights, he would’ve mistaken it for a classy tea party dinner. The classy lighting, marble flooring, whole regal vibe of the area.. Bellissimo. (he learned that one from Google)

Gyuvin was now sitting on a random couch on the second floor, courtesy of Zhang Hao, who said he looked like he needed some peace and quiet, on the normally restricted second floor. He honestly felt like he was intruding, but Hao vehemently insisted that he stay there and gave him a tray of snacks and even more juice, like he hasn’t basically drunk the whole supply.

He doesn’t know whether to thank Zhang Hao for his deliberate ‘kindness’ or curse him, because Ricky suddenly walked up the stairs and visibly startled at his presence.

“Oh.. hello.” Ricky waved awkwardly, shoulders sagging and eyes tired.

“Hi.. Hao-hyung let me up here.” Gyuvin answered, sensing Ricky’s confusion.

“.. Okay.” 

“..” What was Gyuvin supposed to say? I want you so bad? Should he go home? Was it too late to catch up on his friends’ movie marathon at home? Gyuvin slowly stood up. “Uh.. If you want, I can go ho-”

“No! It’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting it.” Ricky interrupted, fixing his posture and standing next to Gyuvin to do stare at his shoulder for an embarrassingly long time.

“Um, okay. Do you wanna do something?” Guess he has to play extrovert (he’s an E) for this one. 

Ricky nodded, visibly worn out, yet the corners of his lips curved slightly. Understandable, Gyuvin couldn’t imagine entertaining so many plastic faces on his own birthday, he doesn’t know about the small smile, though.

This ended up with them in Ricky’s room, awkwardly sitting on the very, very comfortable king-sized bed, bowl of chips in hand as they scrolled through TikTok on Ricky’s IPad. At that point, Gyuvin’s ice has been thoroughly broken, or should he say melt? He swears Ricky’s sheer natural aegyofulness melted his heart from deep within, unable to help the bursts of cuteness aggression and bright smiles he beams. For example:

“Are you usually a party person?” Gyuvin took a chip from their shared bowl laying on his lap.

“No? I just felt obliged to throw a party.” Ricky stated simply, focusing his eyes on the K-drama they were watching, one Gyuvin barely absorbed in lieu of staring at Ricky’s lips. Uh oh, gay.

“Even though it’s your birthday?” Gyuvin had said, receiving a nod from Ricky before adding, “Um. Happy birthday, by the way..” He muttered, thinking about the paper bag he left under the bed while Ricky was washing up in his en suite.

“Thanks.”

“Must’ve heard that one all night, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but I don’t mind hearing it from you.” Pause. What was that supposed to mean..? 

“Careful, I might get used to receiving that kinda special treatment, Kim Rick!” Gyuvin said impulsively, brain running on nothing but dopamine.

“Kim Rick?” Ricky mused, an eyebrow raised. “You’ve been getting more and more bolder since the two weeks we’ve known each other..”

“I u-uh..” Gyuvin stammered, not meaning the nickname slip-up. “Um, I didn’t mean it.”

“Awh, really?” Ricky laughed lightly. “it’s cute.” How could he say that despite having the cutest heart-shaped smile? 

Gyuvin mentally blanked out, just staring at Ricky’s face in awe with his mouth open embarrassingly. “Um.. yep..” Then, he pretended to pay attention to what was going on in the K-drama. Real smooth, Gyuvin. Real smooth.

…

The female lead dramatically screams out, reaching for her hand, before the credits abruptly roll in. They’ve just finished the 2nd episode of the K-drama, and the real, functioning, traditional, and surprisingly non-digital clock on Ricky’s wall is saying it’s 10:58 PM. 

“Um, it’s kinda late..” Gyuvin stated, after even the credits have ended.

“Yeah..” Ricky awkwardly let out, looking at something else in his room.

“Wanna do this again sometime?” Gyuvin peered in Ricky’s eyes, as if he were trying to look into his soul. 

“Sure.” Ricky fiddled with the sleeves of his pajamas. “That.. was really fun, actually.”

“Yeah?” Gyuvin smiled, tilting his head. Ricky makes a face but Gyuvin thinks nothing of it. “I’ll hold you to that next time, then.”

..

Ricky had just accompanied Gyuvin to the door, the other insisting that he didn’t need a ride home. He’s not sure why, but he feels lighter and happier , almost. The idea of making new friends had always been so daunting to him, maybe all it really took was just someone opposite yet so similar, like what fire is to water, a balance of sorts.

He laid in his bed, content and fiddling with the charm on his phone, the one Gyuvin gave him before leaving.

“Um.. before I go,” Gyuvin rummaged inside his bag, taking out a slightly crumpled paper bag. “Happy birthday, Rick.” He extended his arm, holding the dark strings of the white paper bag. 

Ricky stood there, caught off-guard with the gift. He received a lot of presents that day, though he can’t say it felt as intimate as this. “.. Thanks.” Ricky gently took it, his fingers brushing against Gyuvin’s. “Can I.. open it?”

Gyuvin dorkily snorted. “Of course, silly. I got it for you.” Hm. His face was feeling a bit warm. Probably just the cold night’s breeze.

Wordlessly, he took out a small white box from the paper bag. Ricky inspected it for a moment, then he opened the box’s lid to reveal.. a phone charm. It was small, the chain being pink, translucent pearly beads, the charm itself being a dainty light pink strawberry. 

Ricky’s heart fluttered, and he swore he could hear its beat from his ears. “It’s pretty..” He paused, taking an unnecessarily long breath. “Thank you, Gyuvin.” He gave Gyuvin a small, sincere smile, and Gyuvin did the same. 

It felt warm.

A knock interrupted his reverie.

“Hello?” Who the hell was knocking on his bedroom door at 11:30 in the evening…? Is this ‘Happy Death Day’ where he gets killed on his birthday repeatedly? He warily got on his feet, making sure to make as little noise as possible. Then, the door suddenly opened, and he braced himself for the worst.

Hao and Taerae emerged from the darkness, holding a candle lit birthday cake. “SURPRISE!” They cheered in unison, wasting no time in making themselves at home in his room, placing the cake down at his desk, and laying on the bed.

“Jesus, you girls actually scared me..” Ricky put a hand on his heart, genuinely panicked at the thought of his possible birthday-murder.

“No you weren’t.” Hao blankly stated, rolling his eyes while Taerae stood up, picking the cake up again to hand to him.

“Picture!” He excitedly said, holding his phone’s camera close to his face. Ricky gave the camera a small smirk, posing with the cake. As soon as Taerae was done, his face fell.

“Thanks, you guys, really.” He breathed in. “But that was so fuckass.” He knows it was supposed to be a sincere celebration, nevertheless, he’s still getting over the fact he almost got possibly murdered in his room like Chanel #2 in Scream Queens. Despite all that, it’s nice to have them over.

“C’mon, you love us.”

“Right.”

Ricky took out his phone, taking his candid birthday pictures himself.

“Ooh, what’s that?” Hao sat next to Ricky, caressing the phone charm. “It’s cute.” Ricky instinctively moved his phone away from Hao, who gasped dramatically.

“Woah, there..” Taerae said, sharing a look with Hao. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking..”

“Yes, twin.. Special gift?” Ricky inwardly sighed to himself at these two. Truly dumb & dumber. “Spill, who’s it from?”

“Ugh, fine. It was a gift but..” Ricky looked away, pretending not to hear their nosy selves.

“But~?” Hao smirked. “From somebody starting with a G.. or?” 

Taerae gasped. “No way.. Gunwook?”

Hao facepalmed. “Girl.. be real.. Gunwook wants Matthew, bad.” No denying that one, folks.

“You know I don’t see them everyday!” Taerae huffed, petty. “So who then..? Wait.. let me try again.” He gasped again, even more dramatic than the first. “No way.. Gyuvin?”

Ricky’s ears reddening and him turning away was all they needed to hear, bursting into a cacophony of screams. “YAHH!! Ricky-yah.. you’ve become a whore..” Hao said, wiping a pretend-tear from his eyes.

“What the hell?” Ricky scoffed. “Fine, it was Gyuvin’s gift. I think it’s cute, happy?”

“Yeah.. happy that you’re giddy over a gift from somebody that has a crush on you.” Taerae smugly crossed his arms over his chest.

“I so do not. Giddy where?!”

“Um, ears check?” Hao pulled out a mirror from seemingly nowhere, shoving it in Ricky’s face, who scoffed again, before actually checking his reflection to show.. his ears red.

“It’s cold.” He said nonchalantly, but they knew him too well for that.

“Whatever, it’s not everyday you get human interaction.” Taerae rolled his eyes. “We'll take this small win. Anyway, wanna play Valo?”

“Girl, no.. I sometimes forget you have this straight side to you..” Hao remarked, starting a mini-fight amongst themselves, leaving Ricky with more time to think. 

Is it really normal to be this happy from a gift like that? Was he happy because of the gift or because of the person? He couldn’t tell. All he knows and knew is that this night is gonna be a long one, not with these annoying pests with him (lovingly).

..

shenricky ☑️ • 3h

🎵 Taylor Swift • 22

(picture)

liked by kimgyuvin_ and others

shenricky ☑️ 🎂 with these two idiots. thanks for all the wishes and gifts 🖤

ducktaerae girl what the hell, sure.

321 likes • liked by shenricky

hao.00 YAH WHO R U CALLING AN IDIOT

310 likes • liked by shenricky

binham.01 happy 22 our ricky ♥️

213 likes • liked by shenricky

canadianoppa u ate sis

153 likes • liked by shenricky

hao.00 queerbait doesnt look good on you

116 likes • liked by shenricky

random123 lol is that the guy from administration in the bg

64 likes, 3 replies

321random I feel bad. He’s getting lead on so bad..

17 likes

12015funny Honestly his fault for being gay

5 likes

321random u right ㅋㅋㅋ

coquettegirl #noticing the random gyuvin pics.. ouu ricky dont end him like that

51 likes, 2 replies

reginageorgediva YASS #GYUBRIK I GUESS ㅋㅋㅋ

14 likes

Servixcunty what gets me is that he thinks he has a chance w ricky ㅋㅋㅋ

21 likes

Chapter Text

🎵 fallingforyou • The 1975

mangyuvin_

Others may describe Gyuvin as a lax and unmotivated student. And.. they wouldn't be wrong to think that. But! Gyuvin is a human, an ever-evolving and improving species, and today he’s decided to take some time out of his hectic schedule to visit the library. Shockers. Kim Gyuvin and library in the same sentence? His friends could hardly believe it.

So unbelievable in fact that his roommate Gunwook had stopped him at the front door, wondering why his academically-declined roommate was going to the library on a Sunday, which honestly should be a given, as his midterms were on the next day.

“Where are you going?” Gunwook crossed his arms, stopping a Gyuvin, who was halfway through the door, in his tracks.

Gyuvin turned around and nonchalantly stared at anything but his roommate. “I’m going somewhere..”

“And that somewhere is..?” Gunwook raised an eyebrow, foot lightly tapping on the wooden floor expectantly. 

“I’m.. gonna pass by the library for something.” Frankly, he doesn't know why he's being so secretive about it. Maybe he just wanted to do something by himself. It's like cooking when you're home alone and losing all that motivation when you hear a car parking inside the garage.

“What?” Upon hearing the mention of the sacred "L" word, Gunwook already got down and was tying his shoe laces. This fuckass nerd. “Gimme a sec, I’ll come with.” Gunwook said, not bothering to look up. His roommate was a bit too excited just to go to the library.. And Gyuvin hadn't even consented to this!

For Gyuvin, a person who is easily embarrassed, the idea of an average “L” word enjoyer joining him in his first “L” word experience was daunting. So, he did what he did best; run like his life depended on it.

He was already out the door before the other could yell out for him. Sorry Gunwook! 

 

Now, with how much he’s already sacrificed for this "L" word trip, e.g., his dignity – will he truly be studying? That’s up for debate. All he really knows is that he doesn’t know anything, and the “L” word is supposed to save him from this gap in knowledge. And apparently solve every single academic crisis there is while simultaneously causing them? Gyuvin really doesn't get the hype. He supposes it's good to be open-minded and learn why now.

Hopefully the atmosphere of stressed university students, with tired eyes and shaking hands, inspire him enough to not fail Business Administration.

gyuvin ☆ ! @kimgyuvin_

studying for once.. wish me luck u guys

 

wook ! @wooksters

replying to @kimgyuvin_

IS THIS Y U LEFT SO FAST.. LET ME COME W U

 

yujin 🐇 @bunnyblox

replying to @wooksters

daz what she said

 

DA BOYZ

gunWOKE: wtf @mang(yu)o where r u now.

muscledaddy69: hey 

gunWOKE: HI!

mang(yu)o: ?

hambeen:  erm..?

child: yeah this is how we see u and hao-hyung

hambeen: im sorry…….

child: u dont mean it.

OLDIE: Gyuvin’s at the campus plaza, presumably heading to the library.

gunWOKE: ok thanks hyung

mang(yu)o: HOW DO U KNOW THAT???

OLDIE: No comment. 😊

child: dam who r ur opps pops

Gyuvin frantically looked around, holding his sling bag close to his chest and prepared for any robbery slash sneak attacks. Nevermind the fact that it’s 8 AM on a bright and sunny Sunday, students rushing around in their study groups for midterms the next morning. With how accurate Jiwoong’s guess was, he must be somewhere here.. but where? In the bushes? Behind the tree? Only one way to find out.

He creeps around the campus benches, looking out for any spying hyung. “Jiwoong-hyung.. where are you..” He said to nobody in particular, probably looking schizophrenic as hell with his Granny impression. Random note, he had spent the previous night playing Granny and failing every single time. Seriously, that spider cellar under the living room, importantly Spider Mom herself? Chills.

Aside from his failure in beating a supposed kids’ horror game, he spied with his little eye.. nothing. Just the green greenery and benches of SNU’s unnecessarily stunning plaza. He sighed, clandestinely wishing his hyung was there to whisk him away for a nice, expensive, fine-dining lunch. Shout out to Jiwoong-hyung.

Gyuvin adjusts his sling bag, ready to return to his path to greatness (the “L” word slash l*brary) before the sight of a familiar blonde stops him in his tracks, holding a few too many silky fabrics. Ricky..!! His whole body vibrates, lips immediately flipping upright and ready to greet his soon-to-be-best-friend, because he’s given up on the prospect of dating.. not that he ever had a chance to begin with.

He freezes when he notices Ricky talking to someone unfamiliar. Y’know, common courtesy; never interrupt a conversation! Gyuvin decides it’s better to just stand at this lamp post while waiting, he’s about 99% sure that he wasn’t gonna study either way.

“--Leading that Gyuvin guy on even until now is kinda sick work, dude..” Gyuvin narrowly heard, from the few meters he stood from. 

.. Did he hear that right?

Both his smile and heart dropped. There was nothing but an all-encompassing sense of dread filling his thoughts, screaming–he wasn’t supposed to hear this. He stepped away furtively, trying to avoid detection. He almost wants to chuckle to himself, how quickly his mood switches when he finally gets the attention he’s craved, but for all the wrong reasons.

Ricky made a disgruntled face, saying something inaudible, given by the blonde’s natural soft spokenness. Gyuvin held the sling of his bag, grip tight enough to make his knuckles white. He doesn’t know what Ricky’s saying, and he’s not sure. He just can’t be here right now.

“Hey! There you are.” A voice yelled from behind him, catching Ricky and that guy’s attention, the abrupt sound alerting them. It was Gunwook, who badly wanted to commemorate his roommate’s first library visit. Appreciate the effort, but wrong timing, man..

Fuck. He needs to leave. His brain was practically screaming for him to just run . But his legs were still, as if his trepidation sunk fully into him. That very trepidation was the catalyst of his undoing.

Gyuvin’s eyes met Ricky for a sliver of a second, and he knew he wanted out, now . “.. Let’s go.” He quickly muttered, cutting through people to briskly walk to the direction of the library, practically willing himself not to turn back and see whatever reaction they had. 

Ricky stepped forward with an arm out, visibly wanting to run after him.

Gunwook looked around, confused. “Huh? Wait!” He tried to catch up to Gyuvin, before spotting Ricky. He waved, an awkward smile on his face, then hurriedly ran to Gyuvin. “Dude, what was that about?” Gunwook jogged next to Gyuvin, slightly panting at the abruptness.

“Um. Nothing.” He deliberately avoided Gunwook’s gaze. How was he supposed to explain him overhearing somebody shit-talking him in front of his crush? Gyuvin slowed his breathing, trying to calm down his racing heart. Not right here, not right now .

“No..? That wasn’t nothing. You didn’t even say ‘hi’ to Ricky!” 

“I did!” He lied, now facing Gunwook with a hopefully normal face. “I-uh, I waved to him before you got there.”

“.. Sure.” Gunwook dropped the subject, looking at the library getting closer. Thankfully, they’ve known each other long enough to know when one of them doesn't want to talk about something. “What’re you even studying for anyway?”

The grip he had on his bag’s sling loosened. “I’m studying business law,” He took a breath, calming himself down. “For my exams, haven’t really been paying attention in that course recently.”

“Cool. I’ll be studying Anatomy. You good with sitting at the same table?” Gunwook put his hands in his pockets.

Gyuvin gave him a puzzled look. “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” 

“I dunno.. my dashing looks might distract you from your notebook, heh.” Gunwook made a smug sound, rubbing his chin.

“Right.. and you’re practicing these lines for Matthew?” That shut Gunwook up real good and Gyuvin obnoxiously laughs at the mood shift. 

They enter the library and start their studies, only leaving a few hours later when it was time for lunch. Though Gyuvin thinks he’s somewhat prepared for that course’s exam, a dark thought lingered at the back of his brain the whole time he spent in that library. Just a gnawing thought at the make-believe assurance he’s made for himself, that nobody hates him, and he’s just another person in the crowd.

Realistically, Gyuvin knows Ricky would never speak ill of him. It’s just the idea, a dreary, dreadful idea hauting him like rust. What if Ricky was just the same as the others who talked bad about him? 

“Was he really trying too hard to be friends with everyone?”, “Was he not as funny as he thought he was?”, “Was he annoying?” Questions he always asked himself in high school, where everybody was just too mean for an awkwardly lanky kid like him. 

Gyuvin could feel the crashout coming like a train. He just hopes his mind’s kind enough to him to spare a little grace.

..

“Bro.” A man called out to him. Ricky gracefully turned around, holding a couple silk fabrics for his Textile Science project. Hm?

“Yeah?” Ricky stood, a polite smile on his face. He’s been in too good of a mood these days.

“About that Gyuvin dude..” Ricky perked up at the mention of Gyuvin. But, why was this random stranger mentioning Gyuvin? “It’s kinda funny how whipped he is for you. Didn’t know you had that mean side to you.” He laughed, like they just said the joke of the century.

“Huh?” Ricky was confused. What in the world was this man talking about?

“Don’t act clueless.. you definitely know what you’re doing to that poor kid.” He said, as if they aren’t all in the same age group. “Hanging out with him, having him in the corner of your pictures.. It’s diabolical, man.” 

Oh. It’s just a misunderstanding, but wasn’t this guy going a bit too far? “Wait, that’s not why I-”

“Deny it all you want, but leading that Gyuvin guy on even until now is kinda sick work, dude.” 

He’s got it all wrong. “I wouldn’t do that.” He said sternly, giving him a look. “Gyuvin’s my friend.” Ricky opens his mouth, about to say more until a sound from somewhere interrupts him.

Ricky sees Gyuvin, standing there like he’s just seen a ghost. Shit, how much did he hear? He’s just about to reach for Gyuvin before the other bolts, a bewildered Gunwook left next to the lamp post. 

Gunwook runs after Gyuvin, turning to Ricky with a wry smile. 

“Speak of the mother-fucking devil.” The man's unpleasant laugh practically echoes. “Guy just ran out like a pathetic, scared little puppy. If I were him, I wouldn’t be running like a fucking wuss.” 

Ricky clicks his tongue. “Listen. Me and Gyuvin are friends. Don’t talk about me and my friends like you know what’s going on.” Some people were watching, sensing the tense atmosphere in the midst of a normally busy plaza.

The man shook, and even though they’re about the same height, Ricky’s piercing gaze almost makes him sink into himself. “And for the record, shitting on somebody else doesn’t make you any better. You’re just as pathetic for approaching me thinking I’d be on your side.”

Ricky walked away, taking long strides and not bothering to look back at the man. The crowd parts where he moved, most likely wary of the usually kind and quiet Ricky. 

..

GIRLS by aespa

zhanghaotopworldstar: now tell me why i finished writing this chapter of my thesis only to hear about ricky getting in some drama..

TARAE: girl i was just abt to say that.. spill the tea mawma @lovelicky

lovelicky: ugh that pissed me off so bad..

MASHU: oh! so this was serious.. wait b4 u start has gyuvin to any of u guys

zhanghaotopworldstar: no.. my invitation for dinner got left on read 💔

MASHU: okay thanks hao hyung!

zhanghaotopworldstar: wait but what even happened ricky

TARAE: exactly ure nawt the type to get mad.. u know videos r circulating on the school page

Woongie: Jesus.. Ricky? In a fight?

lovelicky: girls lets relax.. i didnt get in a fight 

TARAE: so we’re gonna ignore u giving that guy the nastiest look or what..

zhanghaotopworldstar: kinda hot ngl

MASHU: ???

TARAE: yeah that was.. nail bite

Woongie: Taerae?

TARAE: jagi! im so sorry.. i got hacked

Woongie: Oh, okay!

zhanghaotopworldstar: NO BUT WHAT WAS THAT ABT!!! 

lovelicky: some guy came up to me talking shit abt gyuvin thinking i was gonna side with him

MASHU: oh wow..

zhanghaotopworldstar: now………

TARAE: okay yeah that explains the stink eye u gave them

lovelicky: no cuz apparently im ‘leading gyuvin’ on and they said it like i was a god for doing that

lovelicky: like me n gyuvin r friends hello?? gyuvin already knows i only wanted to be friends. they even tried to make themselves look good saying that they wouldnt run like gyuvin. so i got mad and yelled at them a bit

zhanghaotopworldstar: oh girl u ate

TARAE: AYEE #GIRLHOOD WE STICK FOR OUR GIRLS

Woongie: Wow. I can’t believe the nerve of some people.. and they expect you to clap and cheer? What a joke..

MASHU: poor gyub though what he even do

lovelicky: exactly girls..

lovelicky: worst of all.. halfway i realized gyuvin was there the whole time..

TARAE: GIRL WHATT……

zhanghaotopworldstar: ouu this messy..

MASHU: WHAT

Woongie: Oh.. 😨

lovelicky: yeah.. i think he heard the shit talking part.. i tried to call for him but he already ran, gunwook was there too

MASHU: wookie?? is that why gyuvin isnt replying to any of my texts..

Woongie: It has been awhile since he replied to the dog videos I sent him..

zhanghaotopworldstar: this is actually giving manwha misunderstanding..

lovelicky: i was gonna say not the time ge except ure actually so fucking right.

lovelicky: i CANT let my friendship get ruined by a misunderstanding.

lovelicky: i fucking hate misunderstanding tropes omfg

TARAE: the amount of passion ricky is putting into these texts.. GET THEM KING!!

..

Everything that happened in Textile Science, then the class after that, then the class after after that, was a blur. He got a few stares, which was nothing out of the ordinary, though they definitely were more curious and nosy about the whole ordeal that morning. Of course, he pays them no mind, used to the judgmental stares he used to get at family dinners.

Right now, he’s in the comfort of his bed, debating whether or not to check up on Gyuvin. Honestly, he’s been dying to ask the whole day, though he figured Gyuvin needed some space. Ricky really, really hates a misunderstanding trope. They’re unnecessarily exaggerated and genuinely stress him the fuck out. Despite knowing it’ll all be resolved, he always thinks; what if it doesn’t?

And so, he musters up the courage to text Gyuvin right after dinner. 

kimgyuvin

shenricky: hi gyuvin !!

shenricky: are you okay? do you wanna hang tomorrow 🐱

He anxiously bit on his nail, suspenseful when he notices the typing bubble. It took around a minute until a pinging sound finally signalled his response.

kimgyuvin: hi ricky! sorry, im gonna b studying for my midterms

.. Fair. It was exam week, after all, the same midterms Ricky should be studying for, too. Yet, Ricky can’t help but feel disappointed. He sighed, dejectedly typing out a reply.

shenricky: its okay! good luck on studying ^^

He gets no reply after that.

Ricky lays flat on his bed. What the hell is he gonna do now? Gyuvin definitely heard all the wrong things, and it’s eating Ricky up from the inside. He feels horrible. 

Now, Gyuvin and Ricky aren’t the bestest of friends (yet), still he knows all too well the feeling of being scrutinized. Nobody should ever go through that, and with that, Ricky’s 100% determined to dispel any evil thoughts flying around in the other’s head. Gyuvin was just that type of lovable person, the kind you want to protect no matter what.

He does what he does best – deviously plan. He has the mind of a mastermind, and he’s not afraid to put these plotting skills to good use. His credentials? Ricky practically has Haobin’s whole relationship in his résumé.

GIRLS by aespa

MASHU: i think i have a crush.

TARAE: oh my god…….

Woongie: I think I know who.

TARAE: BABE? SPILL!!

zhanghaotopworldstar: ouu i think i got an inkling too ♥️

MASHU: NO U GUYS DONT. 

Woongie: Does it start with a G and rhyme with a book?

MASHU: AWDUAHFUQFHgGAAWQJIAGf

TARAE: OH MY GOD……… (gif of a shocked woman in red lighting)

zhanghaotopworldstar: YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Woongie: Right on the nail! 

MASHU: HOW DID U KNOWWW IWAHFUAHFAhgIHSAG WHAT 😭 NOOO

zhanghaotopworldstar: girl.. the closet is made out of glass.

TARAE: wait.. u are.. no.. WERE our token straight friend.. u guys….

Woongie: You know what to say, jagi.

TARAE: COOONNNNNGRAAAAAAAATSSSSSSS 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

zhanghaotopworldstar: CONFUCKINGGRATULATIONS ON COMING OUT SEOK MATTHEW WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU

MASHU: thank u guys 😢 i think i was in denial for the longest time.. #pride #bicuriousturnedbisexual #jojosiwa

Woongie: We are now all officially gay. Hooray!

TARAE: wait.. this isnt right.. wheres our resident fujo @lovelicky

lovelicky: not now mommys trying to devise a plan

lovelicky: congrats to mashu though ♥️ the way gyuvin talked abt u two made it sound like u guys already were dating

MASHU: ugh thats the thing.. sometimes im so scared that im confusing a really great friendship with love.. i mean i want him, but what if it just fades away?

Woongie: Oh, Mashu..

MASHU: hyung :(

zhanghaotopworldstar: ik im usually so unserious but girl, you’ll know it when you know it. even if it fades away, what you feel right now is real. don’t invalidate yourself!

TARAE: exactly mawma. keep ur chin up cuz the only person who could answer that question is you yourself

TARAE: also im pretty sure wanting to suck ur bffs dick isnt what friends think of eo

MASHU: aww thank u hyungs <3.. WAIT WHAT

MASHU: IVE NEVER SAID THAT IN MY LIFE

TARAE: u distinctly asked me 2 months, 1 week, and 3 days ago how sucking a dick felt

TARAE 2 + 2 = 4 SO WHAT #LOGICALREASONING

Woongie: Well, I could see the correlation..

zhanghaotopworldstar: now what do u have to say abt this mashu..

MASHU: i dont got nothing to say.

lovelicky: matthew has gyuvin replied to u yet

lovelicky: also u def wanted to choke on gunwook. dont think i dont notice where youre looking when he wears those fuckass grey sweats

MASHU: yeah gyuvin texted! he just took a nap

MASHU: also delete. now. please.

MASHU: RICKY PLEASE DELETEWATgADGAHht

zhanghaotopworldstar: ouu 🙂↕️ CLOCKED

Woongie: My perception of my cute little buff dongsaeng.. shattered..

TARAE: MATTHEW FIGHT BACK

..

Gyuvin feels like shit. Blankets and clothes sticking onto his skin, nose stuffy, eyes burning, head literally imploding on itself, nothing was going right for him. The blind’s were closed, the room dim and quiet aside from the humming of the air-conditioner. 

He had just woken up from an embarrassingly long spiral that frankly shouldn’t have happened. Gyuvin rolls over with a groan, emerging his head from under his slightly damp pillow. He stares at the ceiling for a few minutes, mind and body in silence, before he begrudgingly reaches for his phone and turns it on

The light stings his half-lidded eyes, not really helping the world-splitting headache he’s sporting but, hey. At least he knows the time is 2:49 AM, and that he has.. 99+ notifications – He puts his phone down. Well? He doesn’t really feel like getting up, or doing anything, in general. Last night was a whirlwind of emotions. Truly, nobody can be meaner to you than you yourself, though he thinks he doesn’t have any more tears left to cry. 

Yeah, he’s not afraid to admit it. Yeah, maybe he cried himself to sleep. So what? Every man does in the face of heartbreak (and in general, men please cry! -gyuvin). And that’s that, that happened, and now he can’t ignore how he wasted a full night of studying because he’s too sensitive to hate. Him and his fuckass people pleaser syndrome that has never done him any good.

Gyuvin was about to get up, a sharp prickling, needle-like pain in his arm interrupting him. He groans once again, the arm he slept on earlier fell asleep. I’ll just lay down until my arm wakes up , he thinks to himself.

..

Gyuvin fell asleep. A beat, before he shakes his asleep limb awake and sits up, joints awkwardly cracking at the abrupt movement. The curtains were still dark, the air-conditioning still whirring, like he never fell asleep. Gyuvin detaches the blankets sticking to him and gets up, stretching his body as he checks the time on his phone. 3:02 AM, okay.. so, he fell asleep for a few minutes, got it. 

He swears he won’t think about crying all night because he’s gonna feel like shit, and self-deprecation never helped anybody. So, despite his painful lack of motivation and mental numbness, he sits down at his desk and boots up his laptop, stretching his fingers and pulling out his notebook and pen from his drawer. 

Gyuvin’ll disregard the fact he hasn’t eaten since lunch yesterday, but he truthfully really doesn’t think he deserves to have anything right now.

..

gyuvin @gyubbiethoughts🔒

(silhouette of a man breaking free from his chains during a sunset)

Okay, now he’s for real over it. Ignore his dramatic yapping the previous paragraphs, he’s actually so over it he’s literally a rainbow over a city. As they say, after the rain comes a rainbow, much like his homosexual attraction (that wasn’t received well by netizens) to fellow schoolmate Ricky.

He just had a sandwich, one his god-sent roommate, Gunwook, left him at the fridge. Gyuvin was on his bed again, it’s like 3:29 AM, barely half an hour since his second mental burnout of the early morning. Gyuvin’s laying in a Dracula-esque post, ready for his hibernation in his makeshift coffin of pillows. The previous hours of sleep earlier didn’t count, ‘cause he was painfully depressed about it, and he thinks he deserves a few hours of happy sleep before school starts.

Ding!

What the hell. Who’s texting him at the crack of fucking dawn? Gyuvin shuffled, disgruntledly scrounging his pillows for his phone. He finds it, laying dangerously close to the edge of the bed, and opens it. 

He’s bombarded with notifications, ones he frankly can’t be bothered to read right now. Sorry pals, extrovert Gyuvin is currently decommissioned, and depressed Gyuvin is still trying to find a way out of his mind. Okay, it’s 3:32 AM, Monday.. (subtle foreshadowing?), TikTok, whatever. KKT? Couldn’t care less. Instagram.. he doesn’t care-.. Notification from user shenricky .. now hold on. Now hold on.

Gyuvin feels like he’s wearing a military hat in the middle of war, and he may be just recovering from mental exhaustion and a severe case of crashing out; but, as president of Rickyville, he had a duty to see through. He stands up immediately, because any text from user shenricky deserves his perfect posture and comfortable seat. 

Gyuvin ignores his still-running laptop (what was he even doing earlier?), bracing himself for any unforeseen emergencies (PTSD!!) before he opened Instagram and personally checked their DMs.

shenricky

shenricky: good luck on your exams today ฅᨐฅ

Oh my god . His texts are so cute. Gyuvin giggles to himself, covering his mouth with his hands like some giddy high school teen then.. Wait.

‘Good luck on your exams today ’? It’s a Monday.. the start of his…. Midterms week..

Oh. That.. definitely slipped his mind. His posture immediately fixes itself, hands now slapping his cheeks in a sad attempt at motivation, definitely woke him up though.

He grimaces, screaming in his mind, then accepts the fate he’s been doomed to. Change of plans–four extra hours of sleep, more like four hours of cramming. He grabbed a bottle of water, the same one he failed to finish at school last week. Cracked his neck, took a pill or two of vitamins alongside the water, and opened his laptop. Locked. The. Fuck. In.

..

His grip on the mechanical pencil, still in the midst of shading an item, faltered. His fingers were sweaty, leg was anxiously shaking and his clothes didn’t feel right.

Wait. Time and place..?

With furrowed eyebrows and a gaping mouth, he looked around. Is it just him or is he in an exam hall, with countless other students focused on their exam? What the helly..

One moment, he was studying the history of business, the next moment he’s seated in an awfully silent room. Autopilot is crazy , he thinks, fastening his grip and reading over the next question. 

Scratch, scribble, scratch..

‘The regime developed by Kim II Sung in North Korea after World War Two is an illustrative example of inclusive institutions.’

Is that true or false? Erm..

The exam hall was deafeningly silent, except for the scratching of pencils and scraping of chairs. At one point, Gyuvin’s unlocked his flow state–glancing at items, then immediately shading the circle of the answer. Boyfriend buff, he thinks (again, not his boyfriend--yet!). Oh.

For what seemed to be the nth time that morning, he stilled again. Another thing had slipped his mind: replying to his Ricky. He gasped, other examinees oblivious to his epiphany as he raced to finish the exam. 

Scritch. Scratch. Tic. Tac (Toe!). 

Boom. Baam, whaam, damn, a click of his pen, a slam of his hand, and he’s done! He internally cheers, rushing over to submit the paper and packing up. Instagram, an application he’s come to love and hate, opens promptly. Gyuvin pales. 

shenricky

good luck on your exams today ฅᨐฅ      9h

 

gunwook

Replied to your note.                               21h

Damn. Aside from his notifications looking dead as hell (as if he didn’t just leave the rest on read), he failed to reply to the one thing that mattered. Gyuvin has failed. He’ll accept his impeachment from the president of Rickyville.

Not to be dramatic, but Gyuvin’s people pleaser senses were ringing red. His fingers stumble, hurriedly typing back.

shenricky: good luck on your exams today ฅᨐฅ 

kimgyuvin_: hey! 

kimgyuvin_: it went well, thanks <3

Oh. That’s not.. He immediately presses on the message, quickly editing it.

kimgyuvin_: it went well, thanks 

seen by shenricky

kimgyuvin_ edited a message.

kimgyuvin_: it went well, thanks 🙂

Gyuvin bit his lip. Maybe he should’ve unsent the message instead. His index finger hovered over the button, interrupted when his eyes darted over to the corner.

(edited)

kimgyuvin_: it went well, thanks 🙂

seen by shenricky

Ricky definitely saw it before it got edited. Fuck Instagram and their transparency with editing, oh my god. Chat, am I cooked? As if he weren’t obvious enough, he just had to slip up with a fuckass heart of all things. He’s jinja going to jump off a building. 

Gyuvin scrambled, not knowing what to do. There he was, on a random bench outside the exam hall, quaking like he was guilty of murder, but the only murder he’ll be charged for is social suicide. 

Ricky never ended up replying, but reacted to his message with a happy cat emoticon. Gyuvin doesn’t know what to think about that. He sighed, unsure on whether it was in relief or in stress, taking out his reviewer from his messenger bag and refreshing his brain’s repertoire of knowledge before the next few exams.

What he didn’t know was Gyuvin had actually missed Ricky’s message when he put down his phone, for the second time that day. 

shenricky: ure welcome <3

..

Ricky waits until Wednesday, when he’s 100% sure that Gyuvin doesn’t have any more exams.. that is to say, he coerced Gunwook to give him Gyuvin’s example schedule. It was really simple endeavor. Here’s how that went:

parkgunwook

shenricky: hi geonuk

parkgunwook: hey ricky, whats up? u dont usually text

shenricky: um yeah.. can i ask for a favor? 🐱

parkgunwook: okay.. totally not. ominous... go on..

shenricky: im gonna give you two choices

shenricky: yes. or. yes..!

parkgunwook: bro what

shenricky: sorry, can i have gyuvins exam schedule?

parkgunwook: sure

parkgunwook: wait.. no hello that’s an invasion of privacy

shenricky: u didnt seem to be thinking that when u asked taerae for matt’s gym selcas in his private twt acc

shenricky: yeah. i know about that. freak.

parkgunwook: AAFWHFHQUFGIWHAGAIUGH WHAT. DID TAERAE TELL YOU???>?

shenricky: no more questions! give me the schedule neeeowww!!! 😾

parkgunwook: kimgyuvinschedule.pdf

parkgunwook: ricky nobody says it enough but ure fucking sick in the head.

shenricky: dont worry. i always pay back my business partners ♥️

shenricky: /drive.google.com/drive/folders/matthewnrickyworkoutvideoforvlog/

shenricky: /drive.google.com/drive/folders/poolhangout/

parkgunwook: oh… thafai youqfakl

parkgunwook: sorry hard to type with one hand

shenricky: GIRL WHAT HTE FUCK 😿

shenricky set parkgunwook’s nickname to ‘ matthew’s dildo #1 ’. Update

matthew’s dildo #1: what the fuck? there are others?

..

Ricky’s waiting outside the exam hall. It’s a bit loser-ish, being in an all black ensemble while these business administration folks were wearing the bare minimum (can’t blame them, he wouldn’t be able to focus on fashion with midterms). 

He’d finished his first midterms a couple minutes ago, and before his next one starts in an hour, he absolutely must clear the air with Gyuvin. He swears his conscience wouldn’t be clear until then.

He wore all-black in an attempt to be inconspicuous, but he fears it’s only doing the opposite. It’s not everyday somebody from the Fashion department is visiting the Business building, after all. No, actually. That’s a straight up fucking lie.

He could name 10 people from the top of his head, all fashion girlies in his department that are dating a finance bro. He despises the trope, how these gorgeous girls and gays lower themselves for a fuckass man that don’t care for them. Whew, he got heated. Anyway.

On second thought, Ricky looks like he’s waiting for Gyuvin.. which, he is.. but that’s not the message he wants to send to people. So much for not catching attention.

10 minutes later, a bell rings, and slowly the students start flooding the outside of the exam hall, all looking drained and dreary. Huh, no early finishers? That course’s midterms must’ve been rough.. Which he wouldn’t relate to, of course. 

Being cousins with the Zhang Hao was a nightmare. Aside from the comparisons, getting help with studying from his Hao-ge was like a fucking military training ground, but it paid off, he likes to think.

Through the crowd, he spots a familiar head of dark hair, poking out from the congregation of students with sheer height. Gyuvin immediately spots him, visibly halting in his steps and looking around anxiously, unsure if Ricky was waiting for him or not.

Ricky chuckles to himself, about to walk over, but Gyuvin beats him to it.

“Hi.” Gyuvin had blurted.

“Hello. How was your exam?” Ricky said coolly, having practiced to himself like some mental institution escapee, a riveting conversation between his cat plushie named ‘Rinini’ and himself.

Gyuvin looks around again, the two of them definitely catching attention after the whole Ricky ordeal a few days prior. “Um..” He smiled awkwardly.

A brief pause. Ricky cleared his throat, sensing Gyuvin’s distress. “Let’s go somewhere more private.” Gyuvin nodded, following him as he led them to a secluded part of the plaza.

“Uh, so..” Ricky broke eye contact with Gyuvin, fiddling his fingers together.  “I just wanted to say sorry, for getting you mixed up in all that..” He had his arms clasped behind him, idly waving his body.

Gyuvin opened his mouth in surprise, about to say something before Ricky interrupted with an apologetic look. “I genuinely, truly, from the bottom of my heart, want to be your friend.. And again, I’m sorry people talk like that about you..”

Gyuvin looked like he was bracing for another teasing, overused crush-on-Ricky joke, but ostensibly loosens up when he feels Ricky’s sincerity. “Ricky..” He blurted out after a few seconds of silence. Ricky looked at him, not sure what he was expecting. 

He continued. “First of all, um. Thank you. Your kindness has always been a big part of why I.. y’know..” He waved his hand, and Ricky assumes he’s referring to Gyuvin’s crush on him. Gyuvin cleared his throat. “Yeah. You shouldn’t be sorry for that, it’s all my fault for being like.. this anyway.” 

What the hell. Did he mean being gay? “What? Qubing.” He said, concerned. “Liking somebody should never get you all this ridicule and hate. And um.. even if that person is me, I’m sorry, ‘cause I don’t really know what to respond with regarding.. you know.”

Gyuvin nodded, understanding evident in his face. “Yeah. It’s fine, I just thought you were in on their joke.. and I guess I’m sorry too, for..” He whispered. “liking you..?”

Ricky gave him a smile. “You don’t need to be sorry about that, Qubing. No matter how much or how often people hurt each other, loving someone is never a waste. And even though I can’t respond to your confession now, I still appreciate you for being as kind and bright as you are.”

“Wow.. Rick, I thought you were a foreigner? That was really.. deep..” Gyuvin snickered, ruining the heartfelt tension.

Ricky looked away shyly, ears burning red. “Yah.. I’ll have you know I’ve been studying hard..”

“So.. D’you wanna hang out, then? I don’t have any more exams.” Gyuvin asked slowly.

Ricky brightened up, then his face dropped. “Ugh.. Sorry, Qubing..” He said, almost whining. “I have one last exam in 20..” Ricky pouted.

Gyuvin was staring at something on Ricky’s face for a moment too long before clearing his throat. “That’s okay, after? What about a late night movie?”

Ricky smiles, tilting his head. “Sure! I’ll see you tonight.” They exchanged a polite look before they both went their separate ways.

He must say, getting all that off his chest was fucking great. 

Safe to say, he answered that exam like a man on a mission. Although, there were some odd situational questions there.. something along the lines of the color cerulean, military jackets, lumpy blue sweaters, and needing a jacket here. But! He digresses, all he needs to know is that he aced that exam and he has a reservation with Kim Gyuvin later that evening. 

Ricky would’ve questioned his unusual excitement, though he thinks it’s just the friendship effect. Must be the joys of bonding and living for the hope of it all. 

He thinks he gets the extrovert propaganda now.

..

When Ricky got back to his apartment, not house, because it’s too far, he immediately scrambled to the bathroom; not that he had extreme explosive diarrhea, but because a girl had to be prepared for a hangout. It’s not like he was running late, per se, though with the atrocious time it takes for him to get ready, he might be..

It’s time to lock in. Ricky plans out his agenda for his after-class shower: face mask, wash hair, exfoliating, shaving, body washing, toner, serum, moisturizer, SPF, lotion, gel, makeup.. Oh, he was in for a long run.

He had exactly 2 hours and 29 minutes to achieve this, accounting for his travel time and the diabolical traffic, despite it being a Wednesday. It may seem like a long time, but as a philosopher once said, a long time is not a long time (Ricky made that up).

 It’s time to lock in, diva.

..

After Ricky finishes with his mini-spa day, he emerges from the bathroom, steam practically flying out like he turned his en suite into a makeshift sauna. He adjusts the tie to his black Gucci bathrobe, approximately 40 minutes left, and if he isn’t in the car by then? Noose, tied, knife to throat, gun to head.

Ricky’s about to change before an intruder (!?) was laying on his bed, posing for a selca. 

“What the fuck.” He said, jaw dropped.

Taerae was on his bed, posing shirtless for his signature bed selcas. “Hey girl, just change, tryna take some thirst traps for Ji-hyung.” Taerae said nonchalantly, as if he didn’t break into his house. Wait. Taerae.. alone? The second rat must be near..

Ricky ignored what Taerae said, dashing past to his walk-in closet and there he saw it . His Hao-ge rummaging through his precious, organized, and categorized closet. Ricky shrieked, horrified.

“What the hell! Mama.. you literally scared me?” Hao huffed, a pout on his face.

Ricky’s eye twitched. He didn’t have the time for this fuckassery. “Hao-ge.. what are you doing..”

“Looking for that one sweater I left!” Hao said innocently. Hoe.

Ricky tapped his leg, clearly not buying it. “Ge. I returned it to you last week.”

“.. Um. Yeah, I’m just looking for an outfit. It’s Date night, pleasee ?” Hao clasped his hands together, mustering his signature glossy eyes and pout combo. It never works on Ricky, well, he always acquiesces, but it’s more out of annoyance than pity. 

Honestly, he doesn’t have to think for too long about it. “.. Okay, just arrange it later.” Ricky sighed, knowing full well that he’d have to spend another hour that night, just on arranging.

Hao squealed, giving him a big hug. “Love you, Rui!” Fake ass bitch.

Ricky sighed again, almost forgetting the time. Shit. He needs to go, right now! He dashes back to his room, looking for where he placed his clothes, where Taerae is still posing, now having his arms up to show his armpits. Jiwoong is a freak, he learns.

He blatantly chooses to ignore the elephant (more like rodent) in the room and look for his clothes, bolting back into the bathroom to change. Luckily, donning clothes was never the problem. It’s the decision that really takes years. 

Ricky, while driving the highway, was lost in thought, a picture-perfect model of his closet in his mind, which in hindsight, was a hazardous act and Ricky sincerely apologizes for his actions. If he were an idol, he would've been all over dispatch and lose his career.

After much thought, he decided on the ultimate outfit. Black silk dress shirt, black sleek pants, and black leather shoes. Of course, he had to top it off with a black belt and silver accessories. He’s so scared. This is his first time stepping out of his comfort zone in fashion.. He’s never worn all-black before.. (girl, who are you kidding?)

This is it. He stares at himself in the mirror, expertly applying his eyeliner following threst of his makeup routine. With his 20 minute travel time, including the 5 minute extra time of traffic, he should be at the cinema right on time. 

He exited the bathroom, mentally preparing himself as he looked for his keys. Hao and Taerae were laid on the bed like a bunch of sickos.

It seems like Ricky’s judgmental stare’s been noticed, as Hao spoke up, not bothering to even look up from his phone. “Won’t steal anything, have fun on your date!”

Taerae perked, sitting up. “Girl, what?” He stared at Ricky incredulously. “Are you for real?” 

“No.. I’m just watching a movie..” Ricky stifled. 

Hao also sat up, an eyebrow raised. “You have a theater in your house..” A great point, actually..

“Well..” And with that, Ricky went on his merry way to driving. 

..

gyuvin @gyubbiethoughts🔒

down badism final boss ME

Gyuvin was positively beaming with energy. He’s waiting in line for some popcorn and snacks while Ricky’s at the restroom, and god, he swears there are flowers and sparkles flying around. What were the chances he accidentally swapped with Gunwook’s estrogen/shojou-pilled water?

DA BOYZ

mang(yu)o: u guys im quaking..

OLDIE: Aren’t you supposed to be with Ricky right now?

child: no way…….

muscledaddy69: heh i knew too.. #doubleagent #partofbothchatrooms

child: nobody gaf

hambeen: yujin… (yeah nobody does)

mang(yu)o: HYUNG WTF!??! 

mang(yu)o: uve been talking to HAO HYUNG TOO MUCH!!! u havent been the same..

muscledaddy69: something aint right. uve been acting funny lately

gunWOKE: gyuvins probably shitting himself in the restroom like a LOSER

child: as per usual

OLDIE: Wouldn’t be the first..

mang(yu)o: YAHH im in line for popcorn

Speaking of which, it was his turn. He put his phone away, giving the tired looking snack bar worker an unnecessarily bright grin. “A large caramel, please.” He beamed, despite not being the biggest fan of caramel popcorn, preferring the barbecue flavor.  “And two zero colas.”

The snack bar worker raised both eyebrows, perplexed as they punched in the order in the cash register, then assembling the comically large popcorn box and filling it with caramel popcorn. Gyuvin handed in his card and took the drinks and the giant popcorn bucket in his arms.

He stood in the middle of the cinema lobby, grinning from ear-to-ear, when Ricky came out of the restroom, standing out in the midst of the lobby’s crowd. He looked truly dashing, his signature dark clothing and his intoxicating cologne that wafts through the air. Gyuvin almost can’t believe he’s watching Superman, of all movies, with this hot babe

“Hello. Sorry I took a while.” Ricky stood gracefully, yet with a hint of clumsiness behind his stature. 

Gyuvin just gave him a nod. “It’s fine, do you wanna sit down early?” He said, with more confidence and coolness than he expected. Really, his brain was just running on endorphins at the recent turn of events. 

Ricky gave a wordless nod, and strode forward, stopping to expectantly glance at him. Gyuvin’s lips quirked and he followed soon after.

…

Gyuvin watches as Superman fights monster from monster, weaving through the air like a kite. He absent-mindedly reaches for some popcorn before a hand brushes with his. His breath hitches when he looks to his right to see Ricky staring right back, who was also trying to reach for some popcorn. He gulped, maybe having the popcorn bucket on his lap wasn't the brightest idea. 

It's safe to safe he didn't really understand what happened that part, unfortunately for him, he missed a big action sequence. Fortunately for him? His dark and dreary life just got lit up by King Midas' touch.

…

The ending credits roll in, and Gyuvin was left with his mouth agape. That movie was surprisingly.. very heartwarming. He has the strong urge to go home and hug Eumppappa. Gyuvin instinctively turned to Ricky, sitting next to him who held a similar starstruck face. 

A comfortable silence loomed over them when Ricky looked back at him, their eyes meeting. The eye contact was brief, the both of them opting to stare at the ending credits instead, which turned to the post-credits scene, that he’s sure neither of them really paid attention to. He put their shared empty

The cinema started emptying itself out slowly, people trickling out and the once occupied seats becoming vacant, until it was just them and a few others.

“I like that movie.” Gyuvin blurted out, in lieu of saying ‘we should get going.’

Ricky turned to Gyuvin, who was essentially still staring at a black screen. “Yeah. It was a good one.” 

Then the quiet overcame the atmosphere once again. With the imminent threat of being asked to leave coming, it’s inevitable that they had to get up. Though, he’s not sure what’s keeping the both of them there in the first place.

Gyuvin wordlessly places his right hand on top of Ricky’s, lightly tapping it. Ricky looked at him blankly, surprise splashed over his face, evident by his puzzled, yet kind smile, revealing a glint of pearly teeth.

“Uh,” Gyuvin cleared his throat, “let’s get going.” He stammered, retracting his hand as he got up and dusted off his clothes.

“.. Sure.” Ricky and him exited the dim room, unsure of what just transpired. 

Actually, even nestled in between his fort of pillows and blankets, Gyuvin’s still not sure what even happened the rest of the night. It was all just a fuzzy and warm memory, something to cherish in his heart. Something in him hopes Ricky thought the same way.

..

Ricky laid back in his bed at the apartment, free of Tarae’s and Hao’s treachery and piracy. He’s surrounded by his familiar pillows and plushies, ones he’s amounted to over the course of years, and each having their own story. 

He was thinking of a bright smile, subtly pursed and amused lips, and a crinkling doe eyes. Ricky’s kind of going insane, he thinks. No, he knows. Something is going wrong with him right now, and it might be a heart condition.

He sighed, absent-mindedly scrolling through phone without a care in the world when a notification disturbed him; it was a text from his friends’ group chat.

GIRLS by aespa

Tarae: no cuz earlier i swear somebody was RIPPPINGG it awp in the toilet 

MASHU: no way. was it in the restroom near the library?

Tarae: YES 😭😭😭

HAO: wait a minute. this ain’t right. we’re having fun and our girl ricky isn’t here. a moment of silence, please!

HAO: earth to rickyyy @lovelicky

Tarae: where has he been the whole night wtf

MASHU: hook up ig idk #02 #asian 

Woongie: Matthew, I thought you said he was with Gyuvin?

MASHU: was kidding 😂😂

woongie: Oh. 😂😂

HAO: or was he. 😨

woongie: 😰

Ricky pursed his lips. He had forgotten to reply to any text today. Shoot, his Hao-ge was gonna interrogate him so bad. Ugh, just when he thought he could have a bit of peace and quiet. His eyes roll, already dreading the inevitable conversation.

lovelicky: hi

Tarae: was the d big

HAO: was he cute

mashu: did u eat or get eaten (gyuvin ?)

woongie: was

MASHU: exactly cuz u a HAS been (oldie)

woongie: W.T.F.

lovelicky: no comment, yes, no comment

HAO: wait.. did u actually have a dl

woongie: dl?

Tarae: downlow, jagi. i told u what that meant yesterday !!

woongie: Oh, okay. Wait, what?

MASHU: INSANE LORE DROP

lovelicky: no what the hell ge i was at the cinema 😿

HAO: just making sure 🥰 u werent lying earlier.. but with who? ♥️

lovelicky: um i was with a friend

HAO: so.. im not buying matthews gyuvin propaganda.. who were u really with.

MASHU: WTF GYUVIN TOLD ME HIMSELF

HAO: GYUVIN LIES!!

MASHU: im gonna tell hanbin hyung.

HAO: wait. lets talk about this 💗

Tarae: I cant with this fuckass hoe

lovelicky: hes just a friend ge

woongie: 😱

HAO: who is this HE you spoke of. name? age? height? 

Tarae: wait. ure onto something oomf..

MASHU: broomf

woongie: Mashu wasn’t lying though, Ricky was with Gyuvin.

Tarae: jagi… don’t spread lies now…

lovelicky: girls.

Ricky’s fingers stopped. His eyes darted to the side of the room, reluctant on what to reply with. It wasn’t a date, he supposes. And it’s not like anything crazy happened.. Wait. Why was he thinking so deep into this? Shaking his head, his fingers typed out a reply. All it really was was a fun and cute outing.

lovelicky: was w gyuvin to watch superman

HAO: oh u guys are that close already?

Ricky paused once again, the words not quite absorbing in his brain. 

HAO: oh….. 

Tarae: oh………….

Woongie: Why are we surprised?

HAO: ricky’s silence says a lot.

Tarae: u guys this is a code blue.. blue for the sea

MASHU: what does that even MEAN??

lovelicky: no i literally was just with gyuvin 😿 u guys.. calm down

HAO: no but my left boob’s telling me that u had sex today.

Woongie: Erm…

Tarae: us next?

Woongie: Door’s open. ♥️

HAO: GIRL? FAKEASS HOE

MASHU: hao hyung u actually gotta point.. if he was with gyub but was having a hookup…

MASHU: bro were u hopping on gyuvin’s dih then……….

woongie: 😰

Shoot. His friends took his silence as an answer and ran with it. Literally, can’t a man just be a slow thinker? Ricky, game mode on! Counterattack loading, frantically typing out:

lovelicky: OMG NO

Tarae: waitt rare ricky caps text 

woongie: Caught in 4k HD ⭐

MASHU: hyung.. hes evolving 😣

lovelicky: i just wanted to try socializing 💔

HAO: aww that’s sweet 🥰 great job sweetie

lovelicky: thanks ge 😿

Tarae: BOO BORING DID U GUYS BONE

lovelicky: no

Tarae: do u wish u did?

lovelicky: no i want to be gyuvins friend hello..

MASHU: yh u guys lowkey might make a good duo

woongie: Agree! Gyuvin’s just the right type of opposite for you. Akin to what water is to fire.

Tarae: love a smart dude..

HAO: hate a gay bitch

MASHU: hypocritical much?

lovelicky: 👍

Tarae: whatever so i have a few hunches on who exploded the damn toilet on the second floor. i think its-

He breathed a sigh of relief. The coast is clear, and Ricky is now free from suspicion. Honestly, why did he even fluster at that moment? Besides, it was just a cinema hangout, a non-issue, really.. Unless something else happened. 

Ricky supposes it’s weird to hang out with somebody who likes you, but a crush shouldn’t disqualify the potential of friendship. Ricky really.. soft, with Gyuvin. Soft in a way where he’s doing things he normally wouldn’t do, or hasn’t done, since his original friend group. 

The idea of Gyuvin being the one to change his heart was daunting, yet he doesn’t seem to mind it at all. He’s starting to feel himself wanting genuine friendships, instead of the shallow ones he maintains for the sake of publicity.

Ricky suddenly remembers how enamored and wonderstruck Gyuvin was at the movie, the man’s heart warming at the dog and Superman scenes, and he himself starts to feel mellow. The world would be better if everybody could have a Gyuvin, he thinks. Which is kind of weird, because it’s not like he has a Gyuvin of his own, well, not to own, but you get the gist (slavery is bad!).

He smiled at his reminiscence, forgetting about his absent-minded scrolling on Instagram and accidentally pressing on an Instagram story.

Panicked, he sat up straight and gripped the phone in his hands tightly. Ricky disorientedly stares at the screen, knowing full well the power his view of a story does to a person. Please, let it not be one of his fuckass juniors that just wanted clout! 

With bated breath, Ricky’s eyes zoom in on the name: ‘mangyuvin_’. Oh. He huffed in relief, now paying attention to the picture in front of him.

It was a captionless and dim-lit selfie of Gyuvin, throwing a peace sign accompanied by his signature bright smile at the camera, in the middle of a seemingly empty cinema. Ricky blinks, registering what appears to be a shoulder to Gyuvin’s side, a figure wearing black. Oh.

His heart starts to race, but he doesn’t know why. Can’t explain the way his heart jumped at the suggestion. He grabbed a random plushie and hugged it tightly, unable to identify why he was so.. giddy. 

It’s not like he’s never included in other people’s posts, he always is. Something about this just felt.. more intimate. Or maybe the person themself was somebody special.

The ceiling becomes his opponent in a staring competition, as he scrutinizes it while an unfamiliar tune of a song plays in the background, looping for Gyuvin’s story. 

In the end, he gave a like to the story and just sank into his bed, suffocating a plushie in his arms, heart beating and a melody repeating in his head like it was lulling him to sleep.

Long nights, daydreams

Sugar and smoke rings, I've been a fool

But strawberries and cigarettes always taste like you

Chapter Text

Four months have passed since The Incident™, and it has officially been two weeks since Gyuvin and Ricky went to the cinema together.

Things have changed, like, drastically so. For one, Gyuvin’s started to send random TikToks to Ricky over the course of the two weeks since then, and surprisingly, Ricky actually responds; even going so far as to send his own TikToks without Gyuvin initiating first.

The fact he’s surprised about something as menial as getting ‘first-texted’ really speaks about his insecurity, but as a wise woman once said: ‘we listen and we don’t judge.’ Although some, ahem, his friends, would argue that there’s nothing not to love about him. Some days he questions that.

Either way, Gyuvin’s been getting a constant stream of Ricky content almost – if not – everyday, and he really doesn’t know how to feel about it. The truth of the matter is he’s still in love, and he can’t say it’s even diminished in the slightest because it really hasn’t. 

Not to say he’s complaining, though. He gets to enjoy moments like these, for example:

shenricky 🔥 13

You have a Streak going for 🔥13 days

gyubsters: [sent a Tiktok] the cat looks like u

shenricky: and ure the deer attacking me?

gyubsters: yeah. happy 13th day rwick ♥️ tomorrow our relationship turns 14 days old 🥳

shenricky: almost 14 days of tolerating wtvr u are..

gyubsters: yah.

shenricky: kidding~ happy 2 weeks tomorrow 😻

gyubsters: 😠

Yeah. They don’t call him down badism final boss for nothing. He’s cooked.

..

In the present day, it’s sunny, bright and early, as early as a summer morning for two college boys could be, at least – that is to say, it’s 11 AM. Gyuvin and Gunwook are on the couch, silent except for the aggressive mashing of buttons.

They were playing Overcooked 2 on their TV. Gyuvin only had one thing to say about that game: it has brought him infinitely more stress than university ever has, and that’s saying a lot as a professional procrastinator. Seriously, he genuinely thinks his multitasking and memory retainment skills have improved significantly within the hour they’ve been playing this.

“Gyuvin. Pass over the fries.” They were on separate rafts in a flowing river, Gyuvin at the potato-fries raft while Gunwook handled the chicken and plating raft, their unconnected rafts called for one of them to throw meals from the other side, which was the main issue at play.

“On it.” The atmosphere was tense, Gyuvin’s dog chef avatar throwing fries at Gunwook’s beaver with glasses avatar (‘cause it looks like him with glasses) raft from the top of the screen, occasionally missing, which always earned him a stern glare from Gunwook. 

It was going well, they were finishing orders in rapid succession, with no sign of slowing down. They had to hold out for about a minute more until a notification broke Gyuvin’s concentration.

Ding!

It was his phone, which rested on the pillow above his lap. At first, Gyuvin paid it no mind, but when it was succeeded by another ding, Gunwook spoke up.

“Gyub, turn that off. Lock. The. Fuck. In.” Woah, damn. Okay. Calm down.

“Yeah, yeah. It's nothi-” Gyuvin’s eyes accidentally scanned over the notification, his fingers immediately halting, concentration fully shattered. 

𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓴𝔂

r u busy?

“Shit. Gyub?” Gunwook’s avatar frantically ran around the raft, completing his dishes. Gunwook turned to Gyuvin of the real world, throwing him an annoyed glance. Unfortunately for him, Gyuvin was a resident of idgafghanistan and true to their nation, did not give a fuck. “YAH!!” A harsh slap on his shoulder waking him up.

“Yeowuch….” Gyuvin rubbed his shoulder like he just got hit by a metal baseball bat. He picked up the slack, fighting the demons in his head to not pick up that damn phone and reply to the love of his life. If he were in the Super Mario world, Gunwook would be Bowser taking Princess Peach (Ricky!!) away from him. 

.. Except Gunwook isn’t actually Bowser and he’s not in love/obsessed with Princess Ricky, but if he was, and Gunwook had something dire to share to Gyuvin regarding Ricky.. Watch out. Gunwook better be locking his door. 

“Kim Gyubin.. yah.. HURRY UP!” Gunwook practically yelled in his ear. Gyuvin couldn’t resist the smirk on his face, one that his roommate apparently saw because he was soon getting hit by a pillow soon after.

TIMES UP!

The screen froze, with them unable to complete enough orders to win the round. Gyuvin paid it no mind because, well, he’s getting assaulted on the couch. 

“WOOKIE I’M SORRY!” Gyuvin yelped out, laughing and shielding himself with a pillow in vain.

“You’re not sorry.” Gunwook darkly said. “You’re. Not. Sorry!” He hit Gyuvin with a pillow after every word. Gyuvin was gonna retaliate but couldn’t with the sheer intensity of his laughter, which apparently was only aggravating Gunwook further. “YAH! STOP LAUGHING!”

At this point, Gyuvin was tired of getting punted and giggling, the freak of a bear on top of him being a bit too heavy. He knows Gunwook takes his gaming free-time seriously, with Gunwook’s weekends reserved exclusively for recreation after all his studies, but Gyuvin has to apologize in advance for what he’s about to do next.

With a mighty shriek, akin to a battle cry, he knocked Gunwook over to his side of the couch and started jabbing his fingers into Gunwook’s sides; the insurmountable bear’s only weakness, tickling.

“Come here, you big bear!” Gyuvin tackles him into the couch, Gunwook yelping and attempting to pry Gyuvin off of him. However, he could only helplessly plead for mercy while Gyuvin was violently tickling him. 

‘YAH! STOP!!” Gunwook guffawed, laughing but actively struggling against the onslaught. Gyuvin giggled continuously, his revenge enacted as he towered over his poor roommate, who was lying further into the couch lifelessly, huffing and heaving. 

“Woah.” A voice mellowed out from behind, Gyuvin alarmingly whipped his head around to see Hanbin and Hao at their door, the latter holding out his phone as if he were recording them.

They both froze, not registering the compromising position they were in. From the outside looking in, it’s a bit scandalous to be panting on top of your best bro, no? 

Gyuvin hadn’t even been able to react before he was aggressively shoved to the other side of the couch and away from Gunwook. He stared at Gunwook, stared at Haobin, then looked up at the ceiling with a confused expression. “Huh?” He muttered, sinking next to the armrest of the couch in exhaustion. Gunwook, worn out from the one-sided assault, resigned himself to a fate of hibernation as he laid his head on Gyuvin’s lap. 

“Aww, you guys are so cute!” Hanbin cheered, even in Gyuvin’s state of wear, he distinctly heard the sound of yet another snap of a phone camera in the background, probably Hao, he presumes. The two of them didn’t even explain their visit to Fort GyubGeon, simply making themselves at home in their kitchen like it was their place. 

Either way, they’re both Gyuvin and Gunwook’s parents, so he’ll let it slide. Not like he could do anything with the oversized bear sleeping on his lap. Aigoo .. He would almost coo, if he didn’t get absolutely beat up beforehand.

Gyuvin was still actively blocking out his deep desires to read Ricky’s message, but he read somewhere on TikTok that if you reply in under 10 minutes you’re being too desperate. He had half the mind to swipe away the notification to nullify any further temptations.

Incoming Call

Ricky ◦ now 🔔

Voice call ◦ KakaoTalk

He drops his phone. Mind you, Gunwook’s head was sleeping on his lap, and the phone landing on his face caused him to sit up straight with a loud groan.

“Gyub, what the hell?!” Gunwook rubbed at his forehead. 

It truly was a series of unfortunate events, because he still had to answer the phone, which clattered onto the floor. He makes use of Gunwook’s absence on his lap to hurry to his phone, the loud shuffling alerting Hao’s attention. 

Gyuvin fumbles with the phone, barely able to press the accept call button after 6 rings.

“Hello?” Ricky’s voice blared out from his phone, sounding slightly annoyed. Wait, was he on speaker mode?

Shit. He sucked in a breath, turning speaker mode off and calming down his voice enough to reply. “Hi.”

Gunwook and Hao were looking at him with a wide-eyed expression, jaws essentially dropped to the floor. Hanbin probably didn’t know what was going on, but he always does whatever Hao does. Weirdos.

Gyuvin just pretended to ignore them and slowly started walking away, back turned against them as he steadily retreated to his room. “Um, why did you call?”

“You took too long to reply! I asked a very important question.” Phew, Ricky did not sound annoyed in the slightest. He was doing that thing where he pretends to be annoyed for attention, must be a cat instinct. 

“Ah, I was busy! Sorry..” He pathetically said, sounding an awful lot like Hanbin when Hao chastises him for hating durian. Oh, how the mighty fall. Gyuvin closed the door behind him, finally in the privacy of his own room.

“I’m really mad, y’know? I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you..” Ricky’s voice is so naturally deep, yet he’s whining like this . Gyuvin is going insane. Kim Gyuvin, 2005-2025, cause of death: grown man aegyo. What a way to die.

“Really? Like how mad?” Gyuvin asked cheekily.

Ricky audibly inhaled. “Like I’m going to block you right now if you don’t reply to what I texted you.” Oh no, we can’t have that. Ricky can't get rid of him that easily.

“Geez! I’ll look at it now, damn.” Gyuvin tabbed out to KakaoTalk, pulling up his and Ricky’s conversation. Ricky had sent him a link to what seems to be a new BBQ place. “Seriously? You called me for this?”

“Wow, Kim Gyuvin. And I was just about to invite you out too. Sure, whatever, just say you want me dead at this point.” Ricky’s been getting too comfortable with Gyuvin, he’s not sure he could survive more of this Ricky.

“Wait, no! I didn’t mean that.” Gyuvin panicked, earning a laugh from Ricky on the other line.

“I know, okay. Just asking if you wanted to go out with me-” YES! Gyuvin cheered. “and the guys later?” Oh.

“.. Okay.” Gyuvin said after a beat too long, sounding 

“Oh.” Ricky probably heard the reluctance in his voice. “ Um, but you don’t have to go if you’re busy! ” Which honestly made him feel like a total dick.

“No, no! I’m going, I was just surprised, is all.” 

“Okay, are you sure?” The only thing Gyuvin’s unsure of is if he likes whiny Ricky or serious deep-voiced Ricky more. He thinks he likes both. Seriously, that deep and resonant tone really does something to him.

“Yep! I’ll talk to you later, then!”

“See you later.” And then the call ends.

Gyuvin put a hand on his heart, feeling like it might burst out. He feels like he’s about to yura yura, whatever that even means.

..

He emerges from his room shamefully, preparing for what Haobin and Gunwook have to say. All good things, he hopes, though he knows all he’ll really get is the investigation of the century.

Gyuvin sits down next to them on the couch, the 3 of them playing Mario Kart, and him plainly watching. 

Hao, who surprisingly finished first, was also the first to speak. “So.” Hao turned to him. 

“So..” Gyuvin looked forward, acting like he didn’t know what he was talking about.

“That was Ricky.” Hao stated.

“Indeed.. it was.” 

Hao only nodded and continued facing the TV screen. What the hell? Sure. His reaction? W response. Three booms for his Hao-hyung (boom boom boom).

Then, silence. Until Gunwook spoke. “You wanna join, Gyub?” 

“For your inevitable loss?” Gyuvin challenges, feeling a competitive spirit light up within him, and the atmosphere seems right again.

“Heh. You’re. On.” Gunwook dared. Albeit in a somewhat cringe manner, maybe his roommate should stop watching those weird isekai animes.

“Sure, just give me a second.” Hao was on his phone, presumably texting. It would’ve been okay if he didn’t obnoxiously lean into Hanbin’s shoulder and nuzzled his head onto Hanbin’s neck. Absolutely disgusting.

“Yah!” Hanbin squawked. Oops. Did he say that outloud? In any case, he couldn’t care less!

He giggled, “Sorry~!” He said cheekily, knowing full well he didn’t mean it. Being around Haobin was a recipe for jealousy.

“Ricky just invited us for dinner tonight, are y’all coming?” Hao looked up from his phone.

Ricky..

Great, now that the 'R' trigger word got mentioned, he won’t be able to think of anything else for the next hour. Which really doesn’t help in the hole that Gyuvin is slowly digging himself in. Soon enough, the hole will cave in on him and he’ll be stuck upside down like the second coming of the Nutty Putty Cave incident.

“Yah, Kim Gyuvin.” Hanbin snapped his fingers, waking him up from his reverie like he was hypnotized into reliving his past lives in a dream.

Gyuvin shook his head. “Yeah?”

“You coming?”

“Erm. Yes.”

Anyway, they started playing Mario Kart without a word.

..

A turtle comes flying by and disorients his Toad racer. “Yah!” He yells, as Gunwook’s Princess Peach car passes by with a few obnoxious laughs. He grumbles to himself, focusing on taking sharp curves and turns to regain his first place.

Hanbin was far, far behind, clearly too distracted by whatever Hao was telling him in the background to pay attention to the road. Whipped ass loser (not like Gyuvin’s any better).

Gyuvin absent-mindedly opened his mouth, concentrating on dodging the numerous turtles that were hurdled at him. He and Gunwook were both in the lead, the 1st place position swapping between the both of them periodically.

This is it. There’s nobody closing in the distance between him and Gunwook, the two of them being far ahead than the rest of the other racers. The next turn decides the true winner of this duel. The very duel whose loser will be subjected to one week of doing the dishes, something Gyuvin notoriously hates doing.

His Toad is barely behind Princess Peach’s tail, the two slowly approaching the sharp turn leading to the finish line. He locks in, tongue out in concentration as he leaned forward in anticipation.. and then– ding!

What? He sees his phone light up on the coffee table in his periphery, accompanied by an all-too-foreboding ding! Tsk, he can’t be distracted for this pivotal, formative moment in beating his prideful roommate!

Instagram                      Now

shenricky just posted a story.

Full stop. His head lashes to the side, eyeing the notification. One thing happens after another: he loses concentration, grip loosening on the controller, he crashes into the sharp turn. He’s left there, in the dust of Princess Peach’s engines roaring, helplessly staring as he reaches second place.

“YES!” Gunwook stands up, arms flailed in the air in victory. It’s official – Gyuvin’s gonna be doing this week’s dishes. FML. Whatever! Gyuvin doesn’t care!

It’s Gunwook - 1, Gyuvin - 9999 either way. In the grand scheme of things, Gunwook only won the battle, and Gyuvin’s won the war. (okay dramatic much)

Gyuvin, resigning himself to his face, expanded the notification and opened it on the Instagram app. He’s okay with losing if it was for Ricky. Now he gets to see the spoils of his war. 

Ricky posted on his story, captioned “gym before dinner,” and the picture it’s accompanied by does a devastating blow to Rickyville.

It was Ricky’s back, showcasing his shoulder muscles and his tight-fitting black tank top looking perfectly snug on his build. He looks.. good. Like, really good..

Without thinking, his hand pressed on the heart–liking the post. One good thing about confessing and becoming good friends is that he doesn’t have to worry about looking like a stalker… Actually, he’s not sure how much of a pro that is.

His dazed, almost drooling expression calls for Gunwook’s attention, who uses his hawk-eyes to zoom into the contents of his phone.

“Hey, is that Ricky? He’s looking good, man." Gunwook commented, looking over his shoulder, seemingly appearing behind Gyuvin. “Didn’t know he worked out.” 

Gyuvin jumped, his hold on his phone weakening, accidentally stumbling it out of his hands–which fell into Gunwook’s, who caught it. The man gasped, drawing Hao and Hanbin’s eyes, stopping in their disgusting flirting to turn their heads towards Gunwook’s direction. 

He quickly turned his head to the left, staring at the vase for a moment to collect his thoughts, then he shyly turned back to Gunwook, who was gazing at him expectantly. “I mean.. yeah.. I guess he works out..” He coughs out, eyes desperately avoiding the other’s eyes. 

“Uh-huh..” Gunwook replied in a skeptical manner, detecting an anomaly in Gyuvin (as per his manual ‘how to communicate with a dumb dog AKA gyuvin’).

The younger was about to tease Gyuvin for his flustered state, but Hao, who mysteriously appeared, nosily looked over Gunwook’s shoulder and also gasped. 

“What’s up with you guys?” Hanbin asked, probably out of concern for his friends. He turned his head behind, staring at the three on the couch. “Everybody’s been so weird this whole afternoon..”

“Nothing, Binnie~” Hao cheered out. Hanbin is a simple man, a bad bitch told him to do something, so he focused his attention back onto his Block Blast game, responding with a simple hum. Much to Gyuvin’s chagrin, Hao turned to him with a devilish smile.

“Really?” He stated, as if Gyuvin could read his mind. 

“.. What?” Gyuvin responded, Gunwook seemingly asking the same thing with a raise of his right eyebrow. 

“You didn’t know Ricky worked out? Fake Ricky stan behavior if you ask me..” Hao had commented. Gyuvin froze at the words, for what feels like the nth time of the day. To be fair, he shouldn’t be too shocked, the closet he kept his crush for Ricky in really was made out of glass.

“I-I mean, ahem,” he clears his throat, rattled by his stammering. “He did mention it at one point, but I thought he was just joking…”

Wait. That made him sound like he’s stereotyping Ricky to be some princess twink. Wait (part 2), not that being a princess twink is bad but Ricky is- Okay. Calm down, Gyuvin. Deep breaths.

“Erm.. that is to say that it’s not obvious with his.. fancy clothing.” Could he have said that better? Well, yes. But as a wise wig-wearing brunette country cowgirl popstar singer once said, ‘everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days.’

“Oh, okay. So you’d rather he.. I dunno, prove it to you by taking off all his clothes?”

What did he just say..?

Gunwook recoiled, laughing into his hand in an attempt to silence his guffaws; in solidarity for (whatever’s left of) Gyuvin’s dignity. Gyuvin stared at Hao, mouth agape and mind empty. I mean.. did he lie? Wait. Of course he wouldn't ask such a thing! He's a dignified and classy man!

Did he really come off as such a pervert? 

“WHAT THE HECK. HYUNG!!” He shouted, panicked after that scandalous statement. His mind in a blaze in order to defend his name. “... butnocomplaintsifhedoes.. maybe after the tenth date?” He accidentally added. Whoops! He smacked his mouth shut with his own hand. 

What was that? Must’ve been the wind.

Hao only smirked at him, as if his suspicions were confirmed. His reputation as a devilish person stands strong, always preceding him. Gyuvin’s gonna be exiled to horny jail for the rest of his life.

“Hyung.. I don’t like the smile on your face..” Gyuvin muttered warily, in reaction to Hao’s prolonged silence.

“I was just scheming, don’t worry ‘bout it Gyub-ie!” Hao clasped his hands together at the side of his face, not doing a very good job of hiding the mischief in his smile. Gyuvin looked at Gunwook pleadingly, like the man could even do anything about this situation, who only gave him a small, fond smile.

“Anywho, lemme join in on Mario Kart?” Hao said, detecting the tension in (Gyuvin’s) atmosphere. Said man’s shoulders sagged in relief, finally leaving the dreaded topic. Though slightly traumatic, Gyuvin appreciates how light-hearted Hao kept it. To be honest, he expected the worst reaction from Hao, who’s famously Ricky’s right-hand man.

“Sure!” Gunwook chirped, Gyuvin nodding in agreement. 

The rest of the early afternoon was a mixture of competition and trauma. The three had a ruthless few games of Mario Kart, with Hao playing Princess Peach, the trio yelling and screaming at any slight inconvenience in their race.

What made it traumatic was the constant teasing he received from Hao, with Gunwook traitorously joining in halfway when Gyuvin won first place in the game. Fake ass bitch.

Haobin left after Hao complained about getting ready for tonight’s BBQ, so they left uneventfully. Gyuvin had a lot of fun, almost too much fun. Sometimes his friends remind him of the fondness of home –  speaking of which, he should really visit home soon. His cute little Yujin-ie has had far too many weeks of peace. 

Gyuvin’s really looking forward for tonight.

–

After that whole Ricky-gym debacle, the first thing Gyuvin notices about Ricky is his bulging arms. He’s not sure if it’s the makgeolli getting into his system, but the whole time they’ve all been at the BBQ, he’s been staring at those goddamn arms like a depraved Victorian man to the slightest show of ankles.

It’s not his fault that Ricky’s sporting a tank top and jacket combo, the same jacket he’s (thankfully) discarded due to the heat of the establishment. Gyuvin swears he’s stupid for not noticing Ricky’s apparent bulk. 

Maybe a normal person would get turned off at the fact their baby girl (presumptuous much?)’s almost as built as they are, but who said hunks can’t be baby girls? Gyuvin’s actually so fucking insane right now. All his friends were talking and here he was busy staring at biceps.

“Gyuvin?” Gyuvin whipped his head to his right, looking at Taerae like he wasn’t staring like a pervert just now.

“.. Yeah?” 

“Girl.. you’re burning the meat..” Gyuvin looked down and.. yeah, the meat was burning. He took his chopsticks and placed the meat on his plate. He thanks Taerae and looks up to see Ricky smirking at him with half-lidded eyes.

Is Ricky trying to kill him? He definitely knows what he’s doing. Gyuvin shyly looks away, already feeling the red creeping up on his face as he pretends to cough.

..

Half an hour passed and Gyuvin’s starting to regret everything. Everybody’s flirting with each other and he’s inbetween them all and fucking miserable. Hanbin and Hao are practically eye-fucking each other, Taerae and Jiwoong aren’t doing a good job with their sad attempt at whispering (Gyuvin can hear the dirty-talk from here) and Matthew-Gunwook need to get a grip and start kissing already.

If their friend group having 3 couples isn’t a sign for him and Ricky to make out already, he doesn’t know what is. 

A few seconds later, he transfers to where Ricky’s sitting to allow Taerae and Jiwoong some more space, not wanting to hear anymore of what Jiwoong was supposedly ‘gonna do’ to Taerae later. Gyuvin’s scarred and scared. The moment he heard snippets about Taerae supposedly screaming and choking he had to clock out.

Anyway, at least he’s sitting next to Ricky and has more than just a front-view seat of his arms. Although, he’s 99.99% sure Ricky knows by now and is just feigning ignorance to save Gyuvin the humiliation. 

“Gyuvin?” Ricky looked at him, head supported by his arm on the table. He’s doing it again. Those same damn eyes.

Gyuvin’s forced to pry his eyes away from his arms. “Yeah?” He’s bracing himself for what Ricky might have to say, even though it couldn’t be that bad.

“Do you wanna get some ice cream?” Okay. Innocent enough. He does agree, though. Gyuvin loves his friends but he definitely does not want to be surrounded by them in this state.

“Sure.” Gyuvin flashes him a quick and easy smile, turning to the others and clearing his throat. “Me and Ricky are gonna get ice cream.” 

Gyuvin kind of wants to roll his eyes at how nobody even paid attention. At least Matthew had the decency to smile and nod. All of them are actually sickening.

He and Ricky get outside, Gyuvin immediately shivering from the cool night wind. The convenience store wasn’t far from here, and it definitely was cold outside, but it’s impossible to ignore the red on Ricky’s ears. 

“Are you cold?” Gyuvin asks.

“Kinda.. We’re not far from the convenience store, though.” As if the convenience store isn’t air-conditioned in itself. Gyuvin wordlessly takes off his sweater, brushing it off of himself with ease. “Gyuvin? What’re you doing? It’s cold.” Ricky tilted his head.

Gyuvin extends his arm, holding out the sweater. “Here, I run hot. It’s fine.” He said confidently, even though he quite literally just shivered earlier. Nothing wrong with a little bluffing for the love of his life.

“Really? You better not regret this later.” Ricky doesn’t wait for a reply, quickly taking and shrugging it on, careful with his hair. Gyuvin just stared at him with a look, uncertain about how he feels with Ricky wearing his clothes. It looks.. good on him. Maybe Ricky should make it a habit to start wearing his clothes. (what?)

Gyuvin only hummed in response. But truthfully, his white sleeveless undershirt wasn’t doing anything for him in this temperature. Not that he wouldn’t do it for Ricky, he’d even strip naked if Ricky asks! (um?)

Soon after, they arrive at the convenience store and they’re met with.. more cool air. Although, it’s definitely not as windy as it was outside. It was a quiet chill, one that was frosty enough to keep him distracted from staring at Ricky. Ricky, who by the way, is wearing his sweater. His sweater. May God take him now.

Ricky wastes no time, not even letting the convenience’s door chimes finish before he bolted to the ice cream section. Gyuvin languidly follows, taking his time with the assortment of various ice cream flavors. Weirdly enough, they find a durian flavored one, instantly reminding him of a durian-loving hyung. 

He picks it up for good measure (goodwill to appeal himself more to Ricky) and is still searching for the familiar yellow, tropical packing of the mango flavored ice cream. By then, Ricky had already picked his signature mini-tub of strawberry ice cream in hand, just blankly scrolling through his phone while waiting.

Gyuvin sighed out of instinct, back hurting from how deep he was searching within the freezer. On top of that, his hands were wet and freezing, and he’s low-key starting to really miss his sweater. No he doesn’t. Not at all. 

“Looking for this?” A mango flavoured mini-tub came into sight. What the hell?

“Kim Rick.. Were you hiding this from me?!” He pouted, putting his hands on his uncomfortably moist hands on his waist. 

Ricky giggled, a sound that might have hypnotized him into loving Ricky forever, if he wasn’t already. “I dunno what you’re talking about..”

“Ah.. what am I gonna do with you, Kim Rick?” He looked away, running a hand through his hair.

“Well, for starters, get the ice cream?”

“Don’t ruin the moment.” 

..

Gyuvin placed the two mini-tubs onto the cashier’s counter, the cashier scanning the two swiftly. He’s just about to reach for his sweatpant’s pocket for his wallet before Ricky cuts in and puts his sleek black card on the counter.

No. NO! 

Gyuvin frantically placed his card on top of Ricky’s. It wasn’t black, well, but he’s no brokie. 

The cashier looked at both of their determined gazes then sighed. Poor guy, maybe Gyuvin should save him the trouble and remove a card.

So he does that, lifting his card slowly, with Ricky making a pleased sound from above, only to slide Ricky’s card back to him. 

Ricky gasped in shock but the cashier already took the card and the transaction was done before a tall, blonde, and handsome man could interject. Thankfully for Gyuvin, he took the plastic bag and flashed Ricky the most cutieful smile he could muster to save him from this situation.

Ricky gave him a look, eyebrows furrowed with a frown he shouldn’t be finding adorable, and he does, so what? Come at him!

Gyuvin spares the cashier the weird homoerotic sexual slash romantic tension they have going on by leaving the convenience store, waiting for Ricky right outside the door. Ricky reluctantly put his card back in his wallet and came outside with the same old grumbled expression. 

“Aw, Rick..” He playfully cooed at him, only causing Ricky to visibly roll his eyes.

Wordlessly, Ricky takes his wrist and positions their respective ice cream tubs for a picture. Gyuvin’s gonna pretend he’s not internally combusting from his hand being in the snap, yep. It’s the alcohol, you guys, it’s the alcohol. (he’s not fooling anybody)

..

They get back to the BBQ and he’s unsure of what he’s seeing. Gunwook and Matthew seem to be fighting? Hanbin is asleep on Hao’s lap, Taerae is pouting and looking away at Jiwoong, and in general, everything seems like a mess.

10 minutes of no GyubRik and they’ve all gone crazy.. To be fair, Gyuvin would too if he were deprived of GyubRik. He thinks it’s just about time to wrap it up, with the clock signifying that it’s currently 10:41 PM. Too bad their maknae Yujin was too busy with summer classes, though he deserves it for slacking so much. 

“Bin-hyung!” He yells in an asleep Hanbin’s ear, effectively waking him up with a startled hamster face.

“Yah.. Gyubin-ah..” Hanbin rubs his temples, sitting up from Hao’s lap, with Gyuvin and Hao sharing a knowing and fond look. 

Ricky mediates things between Gunwook and Matthew by sitting in between them and.. wait, is he paying the bill? What the helly. Is this payback? 

A restaurant bill is arguably more relevant than a convenience store one, so he supposes Ricky wins this one. Tsk, tsk. Incidentally, where were his and Ricky’s ice cream tubs? Gyuvin looks around the table, scanning it for the white plastic bag with the fuckass store logo. He looks at his seatmate, Taerae, and audibly gasps.

“C’mon, jagi.. I even bought you ice cream..” Jiwoong pleads with Taerae, offering the plastic bag to him. Bro, what the fuck? This thief!

Gyuvin stares at them with an aghast expression, literally gagged at the audacity of this grandpa. 

“Ugh. No you didn’t, Jiwoong.” Jiwoong’s mouth dropped at the loss of his ‘hyung’ or ‘jagi’ title, visibly looking distraught. The table went silent at the notice of the two’s random feud. In the end, they’ve all been dirty nosy freaks and the lot of them really aren’t doing a good job at hiding it.

“But.. I did..”

“Jiwoong, the strawberry and mango flavors aren’t fooling anyone..”

“I’m sorry, jagi.. Gunwook told me to do it..”

“What?” Gunwook interrupted at the mention of his name.

“Um..” Taerae was confused, rightfully so. Actually, everyone does, and Gyuvin knows Hao and Ricky are going to investigate the house boots down with Taerae on what the hell just transpired.

“Ahem.. Alright, guys. Let’s pack it up.” Hanbin cleared his throat, clasping his hands together with a loud clap. Sometimes, it’s almost like he’s the designated leader of the group. Huh, sounds familiar..

Anywho, he snatches the plastic bag from Jiwoong with his tongue out, the elder not really caring and was too busy begging for Taerae’s forgiveness, which, for the record, all went in vain.

It was.. an eventful night, that’s for sure. At least he got to see broad-shouldered and armed Ricky. Enough material for him to last a lifetime. What? Kidding…

Or is he? Find out soon on the next episode of Gyuvin channel.

..

Funnily enough, the moment Gyuvin and Gunwook got back to the campus dormitories, the plastic bag in his hands felt a bit too heavy, a bit too bulky.

With bated breath accompanied with a horrified expression, Gyuvin peered inside the plastic bag only to reveal.. two ice cream tubs.

He gasps, but Gunwook pays him no mind like the dick he is. This is exactly why he can’t Seok Matthew.

Gyuvin fishes for his phone in his pocket, promptly going on KakaoTalk to text Ricky.

shenricky

shenricky: gyuvin 😾

kimgyuvin_: KIM RIK IM SO SORRY

They had both texted at the same time.

shenricky: noooooooooo 😿

kimgyuvin_: ricky noo ill bring u it now 🙁

shenricky: dont even bother.

shenricky set kimgyuvin_’s nickname to ‘DO NOT RESPOND’ . Update

DO NOT RESPOND: RICKY NOO JEBAL

DO NOT RESPOND: DID U BLOCK ME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

shenricky: no i didnt calm down seobaerin-ah carpenter

DO NOT RESPOND: oh ok

DO NOT RESPOND: wtf. did u learn that joke from wooks?

shenricky: yeah he was really proud of it

DO NOT RESPOND set their nickname to ‘gyub<3’. Update

shenricky: umm.. okay..

gyub<3: thoughts?

shenricky: its cute

gyub<3: do u mean me or?

shenricky: no

gyub<3: ok whatever ill eat this fuckass strawberry ice cream then

shenricky: 😾

gyub<3: dont think i forgot abt u having my sweatshirt still. almost died of hypothermia earlier.

shenricky: no comment.

..

gyuvin ☆ ! @kimgyuvin_

gnawing at the bars of my enclosure.

Gyuvin is the president and only resident of Rickyville, and he’s been in a Ricky drought and famine as of recent. You see, it’s not him or Ricky’s fault that the Fashion department’s having a busy week with their numerous projects and planning, but he’s seriously developing Ricky-withdrawal symptoms. 

He feels it, no, he doesn’t feel his ears, nose, eyes, mouth, or any part of his body. Most especially the one down there.

That’s a joke. He’s not a freak like that.

Anyway, point is, he’s Ricky-less and interaction-less, although he doesn’t need to depend on attention-seeking on social media anymore because he can actually text the real thing. Despite that, he’s willing and almost ready to bomb the Fashion department building for cooping up his beloved (parasocial much?) inside the building for hours on end. 

Gyuvin hates seeing blonde hair as he stalks the students from his dormitory window, hates seeing black outfits and strawberries. Actually, it’s kind of weird how he’s looking down at everybody from his window in his free-time when he could be playing League of Legends (arguably worse) or looking for Ricky interactions.

Wait. His genius never fails to impress him. Mind of a master mind. A photo post. Okay, his day is already preordained. It’s going to be a good day, with a lot of happiness, a lot of fun, and a Ricky interaction (because Ricky still hasn’t replied in over 10 minutes).

First, his morning classes, then his work, then he posts and then probably has some fun with the guys on League. Simple right? All he needs is execution.

..

Yeah, all he really needs is execution. By guillotine. 'Off with his head!'

His day was supposed to be quick and easy. One that he remembers as well organized and structured. He’s starting to think the universe planned for his downfall on this very day. August 2 will go down in Gyuvin history as one of his very rare bad days.

It started at university.

“Gyuvin-ssi, did you get my email submitting my part?” His groupmate came up to him in marketing class. He doesn’t feel the need to explain that they had just submitted their report that very night. “I heard my name wasn’t on the paper. Why? I already sent my part.” Youngjae, the groupmate, had asked with furrowed eyebrows and crossed arms.

“What? Really.. Let me check.” Gyuvin politely replied, pulled up his phone, swiping to trusty old G-mail, and there he saw it.

Gwon Youngjae       Inbox     Marketing (My Part)          1:05 AM

Mind you, he passed the project after repeatedly asking for that guy’s parts at around 9 PM. He opens the file, skimming through to see if he even did the part assigned correctly.

What the hell? How marketing affects social media trends? They were supposed to do a marketing analysis on celebrity endorsement trends. Oh, Gyuvin was definitely fuming. 

“Um.. Yeah. It’d be way better if you had passed it when I was asking for it though.. It said you sent the email to me at 1 AM.” He reluctantly said. Did he forget to mention that he removed Youngjae’s name from the analysis paper? “On top of that, it’s unrelated to our marketing analysis.” Gyuvin said curtly.

“But I passed my part? Shouldn’t I at least be written down as a member?”

“Man, Youngjae. Just give it up, bro.” Another groupmate, Changmin interjected.

“Whatever, dude.” Youngjae sighs. “Go back to kissing Ricky’s feet, for all I care.” He walked away, leaving a bewildered Gyuvin in his wake. Oh, Gyuvin was seeing something. Something red, something including a knife mayhaps?

..

It didn’t go any better when he got to his workplace, taking over from the last guy who had a shift was the worst. First of fucking all, he didn’t restock the ice cream, didn’t organize where the sauce bottles were meant to be placed, didn’t clean the the ice cream scooper, and worst of all, the ice cream station was a mess. 

Gyuvin endured those nasty ass eyes the whole time in Marketing class just to go to his goddamn job with his incompetent ass co-workers. They act like they’re the ones to suffer the burden of the lunch rush shift. 

Now, Gyuvin’s no angry person by any means, but the day seems to progressively keep getting worse and worse. He’s just barely survived the lunch rush, scarcely able to keep the customer service smile that even got him hired. The girls love an oppa smile , they said. Well, oppa wants to fucking slit his own throat.

Ahem, anywho. Back on his tangent. Now he’s here, cleaning up with the time almost pushing 6 PM, when his shift should’ve ended around 30 minutes ago because nobody bothered to restock or organize anything. And of course, he would’ve just left, if he didn’t feel bad for the poor girl taking over later, because God bless her soul for being his only tolerable co-worker.

Gyuvin’s on the last thing left to restock, the medium chocolate cones, not to mention that he’s also on his last straw. He haphazardly drops the medium chocolate cones in its designated slot, stilling to breathe in-and-out. 

To make things worse, actually, he’ll just let it play out instead of going on another coke rant.

“Hello sir, welcome back.” Gyuvin greets the man who had just ordered something about 10 minutes ago.

The man looks at him disgruntledly. “Can I get a refund?”

“Oh. Was there any problem with the ice cream?” He asked politely, worry flashing over his face. Of course, he wasn’t actually worried, but he has to at least pretend to care to keep his job.

“No, I just didn’t like it.” And yet, the man’s holding a completely empty ice cream cup. Huh. That’s totally weird.

Understanding the situation immediately, Gyuvin inwardly sighed. “Sir. We don’t offer refunds if the order’s already been fully consumed.”

“What? That’s utter nonsense..” The older man grunted, looking to the side. “What type of ice cream parlor is this?”

At that point, a line had formed behind the man, most likely more customers who want their ice cream on this fine afternoon.

“Sir, you’re holding the line.” Gyuvin forced a pleasant smile.

“I would’ve gone if I just got my refund.”

“We don’t do refunds if you already finished the product.”

“Okay, so give me another cup, then.” Gyuvin does not get paid enough to deal with this bullshit. What in the modern scamming techniques?

They go back-and-forth for a couple more seconds, and Gyuvin can practically hear the woman behind him tapping her heels on the floor. He sighs for what seemed to be the nth time that day, and acquiesced.

“Alright then, unfortunately our compensation ice creams are all out and only the durian one is available.” He bit back a smirk, reminded of his Hao-hyung.

“Go fuck yourself, kid.” The guy grumbled, just walking out.

Gyuvin can barely even process what just happened before he’s already smiling and taking the next customer’s order. If he isn’t employee of the month he’s gonna jump off.

It couldn’t get any worse right? When he gets home, he’ll just enjoy a few games of League (as if it’ll make him feel any better) and hopefully get a good night’s rest… That’s after he’s done with his attention-seeking propaganda.

The parlor’s door chime rings. Gyuvin looks up, waving when he notices the familiar features of Chaewon. 

“Hey.” He takes off the shop’s signature bright yellow gloves. 

“Hi, Gyuvin. Long shift? Don’t usually catch you while you’re still in the.. uniform.” She eyes him up and down. He can’t tell if Chaewon just made a lucky guess or if his stress is showing on his face.

“Yep. Guy before me didn’t restock or clean anything. You’re welcome, by the way.” He throws her a tired smile, half-joking as he treads into the changing room.

“Thanks, I guess. Couldn’t have done it without ya.” Ever the comedian, Chaewon. It’s always the gays, he’s starting to see a pattern here (the call is coming from inside the house!).

He violently opens his locker, taking off his apron and shrugging off his shirt as he rummages around for the shirt he wore that morning. Gyuvin glances a glimpse of himself in the mirror and damn. His previous anger dissipates almost immediately because zoo wee mama is he fine. 

Gyuvin’s almost too busy snapping pics of his bare back to even notice the time.

“Hey, you good in there?” Chaewon knocked from outside. Oh. He almost forgot that she had to change into the uniform too.

He slid on his sweater, closed the locker like he didn’t just embody the other half of his bisexuality (the straight kind) and started thirst-trapping around the room. “I’m good, coming out now.”

“Wow, congrats.” 

He’s about to curse her out but settles with an “okay.”

..

shenricky

gyub<3: do u wanna call? 7 minutes ago

..

Great. He’s back at campus dormitories, and the light in his eyes is just about to fade. His night would’ve been salvaged if it weren’t for that dickhead who honked at him for crossing the pedestrian lane when the green walking signal lit up. He wasn’t even the only one!

With his day positively ruined, he laid in bed. Gunwook probably isn’t up for those few games of League either, as the man’s been MIA. Though, judging by Matthew’s Instagram story, he guesses his roommate slash bestfriend’s having a way better day than he is.

Whatever. He doesn’t care. Gyuvin opens Instagram himself, deciding to post a story in retaliation to this godforsaken day. 

“who want me 😛😛” 

Okay. Not the smartest caption, but how else is he gonna caption a shirtless, back-profile mirror pic? He’s not even trying to be discreet, this story’s definitely meant for Ricky, who still hasn’t replied to his message. Gyuvin has half the mind to battle with himself if he should keep the slight peek of his underwear strap showing. To be a slut or to not?

Gyuvin realizes that there’s a reason he’s blocked/hidden Yujin from seeing his stories, and decides to post the full picture instead. Is it risky? Yes. Does he give a damn? No. Will he give a damn? Most probably. It wouldn’t be Gyuvin if he didn’t regret every action a few moments later.

..

Yeah. He regrets it. Bad. If he could turn back time..

He’s not gonna go on about fixing the past, because while his story got him a few encouraging and empowering DMs (they want his gyuvussy bad), there also came the bad.

Some fuckers decided to comment on his post. Yeah. Comment on his goddamn story. Like, who even does that?

weirdo1: ricky come get ur man 😂😂 

taiwfhqf: IN ME NOW

awhaqhf: This is actually getting embarrassing.

weirdo2: ‘who want me’ not ricky that’s for sure ㅋㅋㅋ

He’s just so tired, man.

Gyuvin’s so embarrassed to be holding back tears right now. It’s just one bad day but somehow it felt like the whole world’s crashing onto him, all because he liked a boy. Maybe he and Sabrina had more in common than just saying ‘please please please.’

He hates the fact Ricky’s name is so closely associated with him now, like he’s dragging down Ricky’s reputation, who by the way, is a part-time model. What even is Gyuvin in comparison to him? He’s fucking crazy for thinking he could even have a chance to be, let alone, friends, with someone of that magnitude. 

Maybe he would’ve if he wasn’t so incompetent. It’s funny, actually. How hypocritical he can be, he’s no better than his co-workers. Can Gyuvin actually get anything done right? Can’t manage his groupmates right, apparently can’t thirst trap right, can’t even have a crush the normal and right way. God. 

Gyuvin grabs a fistful of hair in an attempt to extinguish the burning urge within him to scream into the pillow.

It shouldn’t be that serious but it is. It’s serious how much of an attention-seeker he is, actually. Crying like a little kid because he got a few mean comments, he needs to actually get a grip. Not everything’s gonna go right, it’s not like Ricky or any of his friends hate him. Somehow, it feels like they will, if it isn’t now.

Will days always be this bad? Was this day even bad or is he just being dramatic? Will Ricky call him out for his annoying tendencies? Leave like his old high school friend group? Will the rest of his friends go when they discover how deeply insecure and empty he is?

They’ll probably go down the same paths as his old friends way back, leave when the wind isn’t in their favor. Leave when there’s nothing else to explore, like an asset that’s expended its use.

He finds it funny, the concept of it all. They’re all in college, how when they inevitably drift apart, start working, he’ll have to adapt to a whole nother society out there, end up falling in a group by chance, one that’ll only reluctantly accept him. The future’s bleak, his present isn’t any better, and his past was the worst. At the very least, he’s happy now. His friends love him, he has people that care, even if it’s only for now.

Gyuvin laughs to himself, wet with tears and hoarseness, aggressively rubbing at his eyes. God it’s actually crazy how fucking emotional he gets over everything. All over some damn hate comment, he’s actually going insane. He wants to go home. Why couldn’t he just be normal?

He hiccups, realizing it to be the only sound in the room. In the darkness and chill of his room, he can’t help but desperately want company now. If company wants him, that is. Gyuvin doesn’t know how to feel, just the all-quiet numbness after a fit of crying. 

Incoming Call

Ricky ◦ now 🔔

Voice call ◦ KakaoTalk

His eyes glanced over the screen of his phone, barely able to hear the song he set as Ricky’s ringtone. Gyuvin’s not stupid enough to answer the call, so he immediately pressed decline call after the 6th ring. 

Of course, he’s also not stupid enough to leave Ricky hanging, so he responded curtly. 

shenricky

shenricky: Missed Call

gyub<3: sorry. something came up

He didn’t bother to see what Ricky had to say. Surely, it was something reassuring, Ricky’s not the kind of person to get mad over trivial matters. Not like how he did earlier.

Great, and he’s getting riled up again just thinking about it. He really can’t be bothered living right now.

Gyuvin mutes his phone notifications and lays in his bed, staring into the ceiling.

..

DA BOYZ

gunWOKE: @mangy(u)o LOOK AT MY DM!!

child: what did my brother do this time..

gunWOKE: nothing hes just not replying.. 

gunWOKE: i was gonna ask if he wanted to go out for dinner

hambeen: erm. aren’t you roommates? just check on gyubie

OLDIE: Well, yeah. He should be in his room at this time, no?

gunWOKE: okay yeah wait i js got home

muscledaddy69: be careful u dont wanna catch him gooning 💪🤫

child: matthew can u not?

muscledaddy69: thats matthew HYUNG to YOU!

child: 🙄

Gunwook quietly shut the dormitory door behind him, taking off his shoes and slinging his bag onto the hook next to the door. He stretches with a groan before he steps into the kitchen. 

He’d spent a second scrolling on TikTok with his dirty ‘outside clothes’ (as Taerae dubbed it) when he heard it. The unmistakable sound of crying. 

Now, the walls weren’t as thin as paper, but it’s kind of hard to misconstrue the sound of hiccuping and sniffling. Gunwook’s first instinct was to walk closer, trying to confirm his suspicions. 

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Oh. Was he hitting his pillows? Gunwook freezes, unsure of what to do. He’s never been the best at comforting, as shown when Gyuvin had that first breakdown post-coming out (congrats btw!). This is really awkward.

DA BOYZ

gunWOKE: i think gyuvins crying

hambeen: um. hao hyung just told me that ricky asked him to ask me to ask you if gyuvin was okay..

child: what??

OLDIE: Did anything happen recently? Oh Gyub-ie..

gunWOKE: i dunno.. what do i do

child: i think you should leave him alone for now

child: hyung always picks himself up after awhile 

child: um but u should leave a glass of water if he didnt lock the door

muscledaddy69: bro u cooked w that wtf

OLDIE: Color me.. impressed.

gunWOKE: okay.. NOTED 💯

hambeen: okay enough joking

hambeen: gyuvin i hope you feel alright :( dont forget to eat and drink water, we’re always here for you

OLDIE: Gyuvin-ie, keep your chin up! We’re all here waiting for you if you want to open up, with your permission, of course.

child: feel better ig

muscledaddy69: so much so for character development.. GET WELL BETTER SOON GYUBBRO 🔥

hambeen: Matt…

muscledaddy69: what! i was sincere

gunWOKE: i agree with matthew

child: of COURSE you do

OLDIE: 😂

..

Time stopped for a bit, almost fading into obscurity. He couldn’t tell how long it had been. He was okay, then he wasn’t, then he was okay; a cycle of taking a step forward then taking another back. It was conflict, it was inner chaos, it was a guttural catharsis of emotions. 

Gyuvin has always been the emotional kind, and through all that despair, self-hatred, and inner turmoil came the cold, the numbness. He laid under the covers, in the bed he made, literally and quite figuratively. Laid the groundwork without checking the roof, before it collapsed on him, with everybody as collateral. He’s shed far too many tears now to start again, so he blankly stares at the ceiling. 

Is it selfish to say he wants to be found? To be sought after?

Ring!

He shook, hoping for someone to reach out. It was his alarm. Then again, he hadn’t checked the numerous notifications he’s received since that night. To be fair, he really wasn’t in the proper headspace. Gyuvin unmutes his phone, but places it back down on his nightstand next to a.. glass of water?

That wasn’t there before..

His heart warms at the realization that Gunwook probably put it there. The corners of his lips slightly tug on a smile, grasping onto the glass and chugging it.

–

Okay, maybe he was a bit dramatic. It was true, a shower could really fix everything. It was like the water washed away all his worries, even if it was temporary. Plus points for making him feel like he wasn’t straight up shit and rotting in a bedroom. Overall, he recommends showering after a crashout. Five booms for the post-crashout shower (boom boom boom boom boom). Plus, reading his friends' comforting words honestly healed a part of his soul, again, as dramatic as it sounds, he really loves his friends. He almost wishes time moved a bit slower for them, before post-college inevitably tears them apart.

Dark thoughts aside, describing seeing Gunwook again, knowing that the other probably knows.. To say it was awkward would be an understatement.

“Hey, you okay, Gyub?” Gunwook had tapped him on the shoulder as Gyuvin ate breakfast. The younger had approached him warily, as if he were a flight-risk ready to bolt at the sign of any alarm. 

“I’ll be.. okay, just had a rough night.” He answers truthfully, not really in the mood to be ashamed. He didn’t lie, though. He’s not okay now, but he will be. Quiet acceptance that he won’t always look this down, and that the sun will start shining again when this rain stops. Gyuvin gives a reassuring smile to Gunwook, who simply nods and eats breakfast with him. The silence was deafening, but freeing. 

Today’s a different day, he reassures himself.

..

shenricky

shenricky: hey. do u wanna go out after class?

gyub<3: sorry rik! i got something to do

shenricky: aw, okay ! good luck 😿 next time then !!

gyub<3: ♥️

There’s a disturbance in the force.

Ricky senses it fully. There’s no way.. Now, he’s definitely not exploiting the fact that Gyuvin kinda likes him as an excuse to keep hanging out, but it’s been a straight up week of Gyuvin declining or actively avoiding him on campus. 

First few weeks of the fall semester and he’s already been through like 2 major projects and he’s been through them entirely Gyuvin-less. It’s sickening, actually. Where’s his oversized puppy when he needs it?

Oka, yeah. He’s kind of sick in the head for abusing Gyuvin’s crush on him but he just loves being around the guy, you know? Ricky feels like he’s a nicer and softer person when Gyuvin’s around. Just a walking and talking cinnamon roll, one that never fails to brighten his day, whether it be with the blinding rays of energy he emits or the blue light of the moon, the peace he brings Ricky.

But, the worst has happened, and he fears Gyuvin is actually trying to avoid him. He’s well-versed enough in past-experiences with Gyuvin and manhwas to know that another misunderstanding has happened. Or not, and he’s reading into it too much. Maybe Gyuvin’s mad at him?

Ricky honestly can’t imagine Gyuvin being mad at him, though he kind of wants to see it (freaky?). Maybe it’s best to give Gyuvin some space to sort out what happened.

In the back of his head, a lingering fear of Gyuvin getting over him loomed. Ricky sincerely hopes that’ll never happen, however demented that makes him.

SNU Batch 2025-2026

YOUNGJAE: kim gyuvin better be glad hes not in this fuckass chatroom anymore

awqfahufh: ㅋㅋㅋ? What happened now..

weirdo2: youngjae was grouped up w gyuvin for marketing

YOUNGJAE: yeah. and the gayass removed my name from the paper.

YOUNGJAE: i did everything he asked for??

parkgunwook: I dnt think gyuvin would just remove a name 4 no reason though..

wonhaneul: Um. I was your groupmate and you were the only one who didn’t pass it on time..

weirdo2: ooohh you tryna pick a fight with a girl youngjae?

YOUNGJAE: FUCK that freak actually i dont even care

shanbin: excuse me?

awqfahufh: This is getting so messy.. i love it..

girlathome: hes js lashing out cuz he probs got rejected ㅋㅋㅋ

Red: honestly just how these gay men are 💀💀

zhao: can u guys actually get a grip hello?? yall sound insane

dandylion: Ok yah but if his freakazoid ass liked sung hanbin ud be weirded out too

taeraekim: GIRL what the hell are you talking about 😭😭 JS SAYING ANYTHING ATP?

What the fuck is wrong with these people? Ricky can’t believe he’s in the same damn school year with people like this. Although, he’s glad his friends are defending Gyuvin like this. He wastes no time in typing a response.

shenricky: can you guys keep your gossiping private? thanks.

Silence in the chatroom. Just a couple of typing bubbles that quickly disappear. Maybe being popular had more benefits than drawbacks.

..

DA BOYZ

gunWOKE: sent 5 screenshots

child: oh what the hell.. 

child: WAIT GO GET THEM GUYS!! 

OLDIE: That’s actually so evil.. Why are they ganging up on Gyuvin like this?

mang(yu)o: NEVERMIND THAT GYUBRIK NATION SI SO BAD QUWHAUH WTFFF

hambeen: out of all the things hes focusing on its that..

muscledaddy69: honestly me

gunWOKE: ?

..

Gyuvin sat up abruptly, earning a few looks from the peace and quiet in the library. He rushed out, bag barely hanging onto his shoulder, which he honestly should definitely keep a more careful hand on, knowing that his whole life’s work (laptop n files) are in there. Though, right now? He couldn’t give a flying fuck.

He practically ran across the whole campus with the speed he used, stopping in front of the esteemed glass Fashion Laboratory. Gyuvin placed a hand on his chest, catching his breath before he pulled out his phone.

shenricky

gyub<3: im outside 

Seen by shenricky

Chapter Text

gyub<3

gyub<3: im outside 

Ricky blinks, staring at the text incredulously. 

It was a quiet morning. He’s currently sitting down at his usual seat by the window, in the lecture hall for Fashion Law. His professor has yet to arrive, allowing him to leave but.. Gyuvin has been avoiding him all month, for reasons he really can’t identify nor understand.  Does he skip one of his major required courses or meet with Gyuvin?

He supposes a major strength of this ditching slash escape plan is that he meets Gyuvin, someone who will surely make his day a million labubus better. 

Though, meeting Gyuvin is a weakness in itself, for both his heart and his class attendance record. 

Additionally, the opportunity to be had with leaving this fuckass class is a chance to settle things with Gyuvin, who seems to be avoiding him for no reason. He’s studying Fashion Merchandising because of Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, not to actually study Law. 

Then, the threa t would be Gyuvin’s own avoidance of Ricky, which is still lacking intelligence on the when and why’s.

Pause. Why was he conducting a SWOT analysis? 

Actually, he attributes it to the time he spends (or rather, spent 😿) with Gyuvin. Hey, he would be having a riveting conversation with a certain Business Administration major right now if they weren't avoiding Ricky like the plague.

Like, seriously, these manwha-esque misunderstandings have to stop. Plus, Ricky doesn't even know what he did wrong. Although, Gyuvin implying for him to go skip class to talk to him is kind of sweet and he's not liking how it's tugging on his heart and –

The professor walks in.

Oh shit. Ricky abruptly stands up, drawing a few alarmed glances. Ricky brushes them away from his mind and quickly walks down the mini-stairs of the lecture hall. He makes eye contact with the professor briefly, Ricky trying to flash an awkward and polite smile, but the professor only stares at him, puzzled as the student bolts out the door.

Well, he supposes he didn’t have to think too hard on what decision he’d make.

Playing: Dash by NMIXX

Thus, there he is. Running in the hallway and cutting through the crowd of late students like he was in Subway Surfers. Well, except it’s not a train inspector chasing him but the adrenaline of meeting his happiness-pill-supplement. 

He’s attracting even more attention, the normally calm and elegant socialite Shen Ricky found running like a Twitter user from a job application? Frankly, he did not care.

That’s a lie. He did care, and all that extra movement’s really starting to get to him, judging by how he’s already panting, and not in the way he wants to be panting. Before he steps out the door, he catches his breath for a moment. Ricky inhaled, dramatically putting a hand on his heart for special effects prior to rummaging his bag, looking for a mirror.

Ricky holds up the mirror, eyeing his reflection and wiping away the sweat on his forehead. He has half the mind to touch-up on his makeup, patting away the nonexistent oil on his face with some blotting paper. Then, hydrating mist, concealer, blend that in.. a light blush, just a little bit of powder, chapstick and voila! 

He may not look any different post-retouch, but looking at himself in the mirror.. Honestly? He’d hit. Nothing wrong with a little bit of selfcest here and there; confidence is key, as they say.

Ricky sprays his signature Oud Wood Tom Ford scent on his wrists, the back of his ears, and a bit on his clothes. Okay. That checks out, he’s ready and it’s around.. 6 minutes since Gyuvin sent him the message. 

It isn’t long until he’s galloping out the door, leaping in slow-mo as if he were in a K-drama. Windswept hair, dark clothes flittering mid-air and topped by a graceful landing. For the record, yes, he did rehearse this in his head for a split second, call him drama-pilled, whatever.

Finding the six-foot hunk of a man (who said that?) wasn’t much of a challenge. Rather, it was finding the courage and the words to say after being essentially subpoenaed by Gyuvin. Although, it felt like Gyuvin himself didn’t know why he called Ricky, bright confused eyes and all, so he supposes that makes two of them.

“Hello.” Ricky waved his hand, adjusting the strap of his sleek black Birkin shoulder bag.

Gyuvin’s eyes almost looked surprised at his appearance, as if he didn’t text. “.. Hi?” 

“Um. So.. you called?”

“And you actually.. came..” Gyuvin stared at him with an indiscernible expression, something akin to surprise yet relief. Ricky could nearly feel his heart shattered at those eyes. Somehow, it felt like he was a part of the problem, of Gyuvin’s problem, and that didn’t sit right with him.

Silence, for a moment, before Gyuvin spoke, as if done out of obligation. “Uh. Thank you, for you know..” Gyuvin timidly fiddles with his fingers.

Ricky stared at Gyuvin, patient and understanding, letting the man collect his thoughts.

“You.. really didn’t have to defend me like that.”

How could he not?  

“But I did. You didn’t deserve that, Gyuvin.” Ricky paused, trying to find the right words to say. “They were being assholes and–” Ricky looks up, noticing how he could almost see his own reflection in the glassiness of Gyuvin’s eyes. Gyuvin.

Without hesitation, he wordlessly grabbed onto Gyuvin’s hand and looked at him, silently asking for permission. It seems like he didn’t need words to convey what he meant, because before he knew it, Gyuvin was grasping him into a tight embrace.

Now, Ricky was never one to be clapping and cheering like a dolphin for something as inconsequential as a hug, but lord was he burning up. It took him a second, his brain practically frying itself like a crab falling into a pot of boiling water, then he gently wrapped his arms around Gyuvin, reciprocating the hug. 

It was like a warm blanket overtaking his soul, like cup noodles on a cold, rainy day. The kind that makes you feel all fuzzy on the inside. Ricky’s not sure if it’s Gyuvin’s cologne or just his natural scent, but the scent is so earthy, like nature, almost. 

Gyuvin snuggled onto his shoulder, and Ricky heard the unmistakable sound of sniffling.

Ricky held onto him tighter, putting his own head on Gyuvin’s shoulder. He pats Gyuvin on the back, gentle with a sliver of a smile on his face, one Gyuvin couldn’t see.

Ricky and Gyuvin stayed in that position for what felt like an hour to Ricky, though, in reality, it only lasted for around a minute. And Ricky’s no hug enthusiast but he already thinks a minute is far too long, though he doesn’t seem to be minding it at all.

He almost forgets where they were, right outside the Fashion laboratory and hugging like a dramatic reunion at an airport post 10 year time-skip after the love interest comes back like a hurricane to mess up the peace of the main character’s life.

Definitely not complaining though. The hug’s great, Gyuvin smells good, a little too good, and just maybe .. he’s a bit touch-starved. Ricky will let himself admit that much.

He nuzzles his head into Gyuvin’s shoulder and immediately feels the other man freeze. At his reaction, Ricky halts too. Was that too forward?

“Sorry. I’m a bit ticklish.” Gyuvin sheepishly said, hiding his head on Ricky’s shoulder as he took Ricky’s hand and squeezed it.

And that piece of Gyuvin-trivia will be kept in storage for safe-keeping at the back of Ricky’s brain. Ricky breathed a sigh of relief in his mind, which may not have just been in his mind, because Gyuvin outwardly giggled. 

Ricky could feel Gyuvin’s laugh from his chest, only then did he realize how fast both of their hearts were beating. He didn’t know how to feel about that – Gyuvin’s heartbeat, a strong and steady rhythm, something so oddly comforting that he couldn’t help but pull away, still having his hand clasped together.

“Um. Do you feel better now?” Ricky cleared his throat, desperately trying to look at anything but Gyuvin’s eyes. 

“Yep. Better now that I’m with you.” Oh? Has Gyuvin not been getting a tad bit too brave lately? 

Ricky smiled weakly, coughing and dusting off his shirt. He looked up at Gyuvin, and felt that same fuzziness again like the hug from earlier. He thinks Korea’s been getting too hot lately, must be global warming.

They both stood there, idle for an excessively stretched out minute until Gyuvin spoke again.

“Wanna go out with me?”

The engines in Ricky’s head came to a screeching halt. Pause, was he getting confessed to right now?

“I.. um..” He gulped. Is it actually the evils of global warming or is he just blushing like a mad man right now?

“Wait, shit. I’m sorry, you have class, don’t you?” Gyuvin frantically waved his arms around, apologizing to him profusely.

“No.” Ricky said, a little too fast for his liking. Fast enough to be placed under the ‘desperate’ category. “I should.. We should talk.”

Gyuvin gave him a confused and concerned look, not any different from a worried puppy’s. “Sorry, Rik. Did I do… anything wrong?” 

“Well, no. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with expressing how you feel about somebody and–” This time, it was Ricky’s turn to be frantically throwing his arms around like a balloon air dancer outside car dealerships. “I guess I just don’t know how I feel about you yet but I’m not sure if I’m really ready to enter a relationsh-” he gasps before Gyuvin interrupts his mini-coke rant.

“What? Rik, what are you even talking about?” 

“You said you wanted to go out with me..” Only then, after saying the words outloud himself, did it hit him.  “Oh.” He’s never felt more stupider in his life. Out.. as in a hang out. Out, as in he’ll see himself out after that awful blunder.

For a moment, Gyuvin wore a blank expression. “Pfft–” He hunched over, hands on his knees as he laughed obnoxiously loud, as if people weren’t already staring at them due to recent events regarding the two of them. “You.. you thought I was confessing to you?”

“Shut up.” Ricky turned around, crossed his arms and angrily stood with a ‘hmph.’ “You could’ve worded it a bit better.. I thought you were asking me out.”

“Yeah, like asking you out to do something.. if you wanted to hang.”

“Now I definitely want to hang.” Ricky inhaled slowly. “From my neck.” He deadpanned, staring straight at Gyuvin’s face, who laughed again. Gyuvin always made Ricky feel like he’s a comedian, because Ricky swears anything he says will elicit a cackle from the other. The Zendaya-effect, if you will. Though that implies far too many things he can’t comprehend right now.

Predictably, that little quip sent Gyuvin into another flurry of laughter, the man’s natural silliness practically revitalized and blooming, the energy flying out like a sea of dandelions. Ricky can’t help but smile fondly.

“If I wanted to confess, there wouldn’t be much of a point. You.. uh, regrettably already know how I feel, er, felt. I would’ve hypothetically just asked you to be my boyfriend at this point.” Gyuvin scratched the back of his head, acting like he didn’t just say the craziest thing to Ricky. Does he know Ricky is insane? He’s gonna be anticipating this so-called hypothetical every time they’re alone now.

Wait. He’s not even in love with Gyuvin, what is he on about? The way Gyuvin had said that bombshell of a phrase so nonchalantly almost hurt. Maybe Gyuvin hadn’t actually liked him as hard as he thought? Somehow, the thought felt nauseating to ruminate upon.

“Let’s just get going.” Ricky put a hand on his heart, like it’d be able to stop its thrumming.

“Sure, Kim Rik.” Gyuvin giggled. Seriously, where was he getting this confidence from? Ricky defended him once and Gyuvin’s already drafting hypothetical dating proposals.

A small, tiny part of him secretly wished it wasn’t all hypothetical.

..

Their hangout is a walk in the park. No, like literally, Ricky skipped class to walk around in the park. Although, he’s not entirely complaining. No one really talks about how the daylight looks when it’s reaching into the afternoon, soft, ethereal, the kind of light that makes you want to run across a field of grass.

Ricky sat down at a bench next to Gyuvin, who was awkwardly staring at him with a small smile. He smiled back, but mostly because he really did not know what to do in this situation. The birds chirp in the background, and he’s pained by how some birds are better at conversations than he is.

He’s starting to think Gyuvin’s really into awkward and humiliating situations. First, with The Incident™, the TikTok interview fiasco, and the many other events that precede it. Although, it says something about him, who acquiesced to this fuckass walk.

Ricky really can’t complain when Gyuvin pulls out his phone and starts quickly typing on his phone. He thinks he’s being discreet, but Ricky can recognize their friends’ profile pictures, even if they’re just a bunch of tiny pixels from his side. 

Ding!

He gets a notification from his phone. Ricky sneakily opens it, seeming as Gyuvin’s probably asking for help on how to handle this social experiment of a situation. What type of person asks one on a date only to go on his phone? Kidding, he finds it cute how he’s all panick-y and nervous around him.

Twitter • Now

gyuvin ☆ !  @kimgyuvin_ recently posted.

Taking a short, cautious glance at Gyuvin, he opened the notification. Gyuvin was apparently too invested in his live tweeting of their hangout slash date (?) to notice.Ricky’s prying eyes. Is it too late to mention Ricky has Gyuvin’s notifications on all platforms..?

gyuvin ☆ !  @kimgyuvin_

alone w a baddie rn RECOMMEND ME SUM CONVERSATION STARTERS

Ricky couldn’t help the smile that crept up in his face. His eyes had a glint to it, not unlike a mischievous cat, and with a press of his finger, Gyuvin immediately jumped from next to him. From the outside looking in, Ricky probably looked like he cranked up the vibrating setting inside Gyuvin. Which is a weird thought, but he attributes it to the amount of manhwa he’s been reading lately.

Gyuvin looked like a deer in headlights, slowly turning his head to Ricky’s direction with a horrified expression. Ricky grinned, looking back at his phone and typing.

gyuvin ☆ !  @kimgyuvin_

alone w a baddie rn RECOMMEND ME SUM CONVERSATION STARTERS

1 like  • 1 view  • 3 comments

𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓴𝔂 @shenricky

try talking. i think it works sometimes

 

gyuvin ☆ !  @kimgyuvin_

RICKY U WERENT SUPPOSED TO SEE TS

 

𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓴𝔂 @shenricky

stop using ur phone n talk to me 😾

Gyuvin clears his throat and Ricky faces him, a teasing look on his face, evident by the slight upturn of the corners of his mouth.”Thought of any conversation starters, yet?” Ricky scooches a little bit closer, leaning over to Gyuvin’s side of the bench.

“Can’t say for sure.” Gyuvin crossed his arms, feigning nonchalance. “Depends on how you'll react. You won't laugh, right?” He flashed Ricky a boyish grin. One that Ricky wants wiped off Gyuvin’s stupidly handsome face. With a kiss, perhaps?.. What?

“No promises here.” Ricky smiled, hand blankly playing with the strawberry charm on his phone. From Gyuvin.

“Yah! Ricky-yah..” Gyuvin whined, playfully pushing Ricky, who scoffed in faux annoyance. Ricky has to fight the fond smile on his face from the endearment Gyuvin used.

“This isn't a very good conversation starter. Should I start tagging people to your tweet?”

Gyuvin abruptly puts his hand on Ricky's, pinning it down on the bench. Clearing his throat, he stared at Ricky intently, who tried not to show his slight squirming.

“You look like trash–”

Ricky's eyes widened in disbelief, mouth opening to throw back a retort, before Gyuvin stopped him with a squeeze of his hand.

“--you look like trash, let me take you out.” Silence. The kind where somebody expects you to laugh, looking all smug and proud at their little stunt. One thing's for sure, Ricky is not impressed.

Ricky just stared at him with a blank expression for a couple seconds. Gyuvin laughed awkwardly, like it’d do anything to dispel how gobsmacked Ricky is. He really can’t help but just give Gyuvin the weakest chuckle he could muster, not sure if he should take it as a compliment or as an insult.

“That was genuinely.. the worst conversation starter I've ever had the displeasure of hearing.” Ricky sighed. “Also, that was more like a pickup line.” Not that he was complaining. It was so loser-coded, might've worked on him if he weren't adamantly pretending to be disgusted.

“Yeah, did it work?” There goes that devilish smile again. 

“.. No.” 

Gyuvin huffed. “I'll pretend you aren't lying, you win this time, Kim Rick.”

To be fair, who is Shen Ricky if not a winner? Winning in looks, body, personality, smarts (questionable). Also winning with the way his hand gets consumed fully by Gyuvin’s. It’s times like these where he’s glad he doesn’t have naturally sweaty hands. Despite that, isn’t it a bit too hot right now, no?

Ricky might be developing something; a fever, mayhaps? It’s probably the heat and not the majestic deer-puppy man with big hands, a big smile, and probably a big.. personality! Hao would call it a crush, and Taerae would call it a hand kink. Ricky would classify it as a result of the summer heat. 

Realistically, is Ricky experiencing the effects of the summer heat? Or is he in heat during summer? Much to think about, much to discuss.

..

They get ice cream. 

It’s a funny thing, really. Gyuvin works at an ice cream parlor but doesn’t want to go there. Shouldn’t employees get discounts? Apparently not, judging from Gyuvin’s coke rant, much like a certain 42 year old Queen of Rap every two months or so. 

“No, isn’t it crazy? The amount of times that guy leaves the syrup bottles unorganized is insane.. Why am I always cleaning up after him? Also, when I clock in my shift he never prepares any god damn thing. Like, do you get me Ricky? Min-jun, count your days.”

Ricky absent-mindedly stares at Gyuvin, licking at his ice cream like a small kitten would. “Erm.. Yup. So that’s why we didn’t buy ice cream there?”

“Exactly!” Gyuvin angrily bites into the cone. “That jackass’ shift is today. There’s no way I’m getting in the same room with that moron.” 

He huffed, looking at Ricky, who was nonchalant and more preoccupied with his own strawberry ice cream to really mind.

“Uh.. was that too much?” Gyuvin timidly asks after a few seconds.

Ricky raises an eyebrow. “What?” 

“Was I..” Gyuvin’s eyes slowly trail away, “annoying or..”

“Huh? No! Just keep talking. I like listening to you, Qubing.” And he wholeheartedly, sincerely means it. Whoever made Gyuvin think his blabbering is annoying will pay dearly.

Gyuvin, predictably, turns his head and flushes a pretty shade of pink. Now, Ricky’s certain that he likes the look of red and pink on Gyuvin, he laughs, something Gyuvin pouts at. Is he a sick and twisted individual for abusing the open-secret that Gyuvin has a crush on him? Maybe it’s a yes, maybe it’s Trisha Paytas.

“I uh, like listening to you too.” 

As if Gyuvin couldn’t get any more adorable. Ricky fought the blush that would’ve inevitably crept onto his face, though he’s 100% sure Gyuvin saw the way his ears burned red. God, he knows Gyuvin’s down bad for him, and he’s tired of pretending he isn’t the same. 

It’s time he addresses the elephant in the room. No, he’s not talking about his fat ass.

..

“Hello, Zhang Hao-ge.” Ricky sits across from Hao in their usual girls-emergency-meeting café. It’s the lunch rush, approximately an hour after the events of Ricky skipping class. 

“Rui, you’re creeping me out..” Hao smiles weakly with a sip of his tea, because apparently he senses some major ‘tea’ is going to be spilled during their meeting. 

“I have something to confess.” Ricky slowly inhales, causing Hao to gasp.

“Wait. Am I the first you’re telling?” 

“Well, yes. Does it really matter though?”

“Duh! Whoever you tell first is your best friend for life. I’ve won the battle.. all that’s left is the war.. Taerae-yah, tread lightly..” Zhang Hao maniacally laughs to himself, never one to beat the schizophrenic allegations.

Ricky clears his throat. “Ge? Helloo? ” He waves his hand in front of Hao, who was preoccupied by whisperings along the lines of ‘this twink will perish’ and ‘bottom-to-bottom friendly fire.’

“Ge!”

“What?” Hao snapped his head towards Ricky, harboring a hint of annoyance. “Oh, sorry.” Hao apologized, fully knowing he didn’t mean it. Ricky swears he’s going to beat this bitch up.

“Anyways, so I was saying that–”

“Pause. Hanbin texted me.” 

“I hope your hairline recedes.”

Hao gasps. “Quanrui.. you don’t mean that..”

“PUT THAT DAMN PHONE DOWN!” Ricky stood abrupt, accusingly pointing at Hao. People were curiously peeking through from their own tables to theirs. He cleared his throat, demurely sitting down. “So, as I was saying ..”

“Just to clarify, I’m hearing this before Taerae, right?”

Ricky shot him a look. Hao smiled carefreely and signalled for him to go on. Sometimes he truly cannot fathom how Hao is older than him by years ahead. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and drops the bomb on Hao.

“I’m in love with Gyuvin.”

Again, Hao gasps and stands up. Ricky stands up, gasps. Hao sits down. Ricky sits down. With the way they were going up and down, someone really could’ve mistaken them for a bunch of moles in Whack-a-mole. Ricky can’t explain why he also stood up and gasped, must be a side effect of the follow-the-successful-cousin syndrome.

“Girl.. you better not be lying..”

“No, I’m dead serious.” Ricky says with a straight face. “I like.. well, maybe love Gyuvin.” Was that so hard to understand? 

“Okay. Can you cite sources or instances that might’ve led you to this conclusion?”

“Ge, this isn’t one of your theses..”

“The question?” Hao piqued an eyebrow.

Ricky pauses, ruminating the question and looking back at the past few months. “I guess I really want to kiss him.” 

“Okay. That’s standard homosexual behavior. Anything else?”

“I like his hands.”

“Didn’t need to know that.. but sure.”

“No, like.. I really , really like his hands.” Ricky tries to hide his embarrassment, taking a sip of his strawberry smoothie. He feels himself becoming more and more of a slut like his dear Taerae and Hao, he calls them lovingly. 

“And what do you want him to do with his hands?” Hao sipped his tea.

“Um. They’d probably feel nice around my neck.. and since they’re kinda big it’d be nice for fing–” Ricky halts, face contorting in shame. “Why am I telling you this!?”

“Ignoring that. Are you sure you don’t just like Gyuvin because of his physical features? Rui, I’m asking earnestly because I don’t want any of you two to get hurt. You know how he feels about you and a confession like this isn’t one to take lightly.” Hao asks sincerely, for once, his rarely-shown eloquence surprising Ricky.

“No, of course not.” Ricky pauses again, trying to collect his thoughts, which Hao understandingly nods at. “I guess I can’t really say when it happened, or how it happened. Qubing’s so.. nice. He’s so passionate about the people and things he loves, with his surprisingly fitting lanky height, that stupidly handsome grin when he persuades you with those god damn puppy eyes.. 

There just came a point where I didn’t just want to watch. I want to make him as happy as he makes me. And I don’t want to hurt him, I know he’s had a crush on me for a while now. You know I’ve never been in love. But I want to..” 

He stops playing with his fingers, looking up at Hao who had a lovesome look on his face.

“And I think I am in love.” Ricky looks away, shyly rubbing at the back of his neck.

Hao coos, fondly smiling at Ricky’s timid yet heartfelt confession. “That was so cute, Rui!” Hao squealed, reaching over the table to hug Ricky tightly. He resisted like a cat, mumbling weak complaints that fell on deaf ears.

“I’m so proud of you, Rui!” Hao cheered, “you finally have a crush. And what? It’s been like, 10 years in the making? Best of all, it’s someone who’s actually a really good person! Hey, not bad for a first crush.”

He playfully hits Ricky, who groans in embarrassment. 

“I realized that I must’ve fallen somewhere along the line because of today.. You know, how I defended him?” 

Hao nods.

“We um, went out to the park around an hour or two ago to talk and it just clicked in my head. Like a calm wave washing over the shore, I just accepted it. I don't know why.”

“Do you think you'll regret Gyuvin?”

“.. No. Out of everybody in the world, it would be Gyuvin. He just feels so.. right. I can't imagine loving anybody else but his smile, his–”

“Awh, Stormi. You look just like mommy.” Hao interrupts. “Okay, that's enough. You're sounding a bit too much like me talking about Hanbin, and I'm starting to see the distaste you guys have for it.” Which earns Hao an eyeroll from Ricky, who didn't even bother to hide his blatant distaste.

“Anyways. So, there's that.”

“All I know is that my match-making skills have not dwindled in the slightest.”

“Ge, eat shit.”

..

Now that he's truly admitted to himself that he’s undeniably, unmistakable, and irrevocably in love, there’s only one thing left to do. It starts with a c and rhymes with depression. Ricky’s going to a..

Con…!

-vention.

Ricky’s going to do a convention at Gyuvin’s house. A formal gathering, if you will, with the sole purpose of having fun. No, he’s not going to confess, because the thought of that massive step in his life is a bit too daunting for his simple fashion girl life.

That’s not to say that Ricky thinks a relationship with Gyuvin will be a chore, far from that. Ricky thinks there’s nothing in the world he’d want more, but as a wise man once said: good things come to those who wait. And by that, he believes it’ll be good to stay best friends for now. Either way, Gyuvin still likes him and he’s not above being a little bit of a male girlboss manipulator.

Oh boy. 

He was terribly, so terribly wrong.

Ricky rang the doorbell, lightly swaying his body to a tune he was playing in his head. It had been a whole week since he made the unsurprising revelation that maybe he wants everything to do with Gyuvin. So, to satiate his newly-recognized Gyuvin cravings, he haphazardly sent the man a text warning, no, threatening to come over in 5 minutes sharp.

He had, in fact, been waiting outside the campus dormitories the moment he had sent that text. The very text that Gyuvin had seemingly left on delivered. Unfortunately for Gyuvin, the Shen Ricky slash Quanrui is not one to tolerate being left on delivered, on all things. Though, fortunately for him, said Shen Ricky slash Quanrui is head over high heels for tall awkward losers.

Gunwook opens the door. “Oh. Hi, Ricky.” He gave Ricky a little wave.

“Hi, Matthew’s Dildo Number One.” Ricky deadpans, staring at Gunwook right in the eye.

“Excuse m-” Gunwook opens his mouth, but Ricky cuts him off.

“Where’s Gyuvin?”

The other glares at him for a moment, as if deciding the next course of action, before sighing. “He’s just in his room, dunno if he’s awake but we’ll see.”

“Great.” Ricky invites himself in, stepping inside and taking off his shoes. Gunwook walks on ahead, unpausing the anime episode he was playing on his phone. 

“Yah! Kim Gyub!” Gunwook yells out, casually sitting down and returning to his ramyeon.

Ricky just stands in the middle of the living room, looking around the decently sized and obviously lived-in home. He takes in the atmosphere, the random knick-knacks littered around the area, a charger here and there, some moving boxes that never really got unpacked. Fort GyubGeon, as Gyuvin had referred to it as, was quite the place. 

Gunwook redirects his attention from his anime show to Ricky, who was standing there like a pencil with no sign of Gyuvin around.

“Sorry, I think he might be asleep.” Gunwook got up, striding over to Gyuvin’s door and knocking on it aggressively. “YAH! KIM GYUVIN!!”

After a second or two of radio silence, Gyuvin’s muffled voice yells back. 

“BRO, WHAT DO YOU WANT? I’M JERKING OFF!” 

Crickets.

Ricky looks at Gunwook, Gunwook looks at Ricky. 

What happened to ‘I'm busy’? What happened to ‘I'm changing, wait’? 

“I have no words.” Ricky breaks the silence first, ears tinted a shade of red as he sighs into his hand.

Gunwook gives him an apologetic look. “He does that a lot.”

“Honestly? Didn’t need to know that.” Which elicits a chuckle from Gunwook. His trauma is being used for entertainment. This is sick work. Dirty work, if you will. 

“KIM GYUVIN! RICKY’S HERE!” He bellowed out again. Ricky hears a distinct shriek of horror, some frantic shuffling sounds following it, before Gyuvin emerges from the room.

Gunwook smirks to himself and decides to bring his ramyeon and anime-binging to his room, leaving the two in an awkward stare-down.

“Listen, I wasn’t actually.. y’know.” Gyuvin asserts a bit too forcefully, like a poor excuse of an excuse.

“Uh-huh..” He was not having it. His mental image of a cute and funny oversized puppy shattered into a million pieces.

“No, I’m serious! Kim Rick!!” Gyuvin groans, waving his long arms around. “I always say that to get Gunwook to leave me alone!” 

“It’s okay, Gyuvin. You can go finish if you want..” Ricky looks away, unable to face Gyuvin after this shockingly terrifying discovery. Sometimes, he forgets that Gyuvin is a man. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just odd.

“No! You have to believe me, Kim Rick!” Gyuvin holds his shoulders, forcing Ricky to lock eyes with him.

Ricky squirms, biting his lip. “.. Sure. Let’s just say I believe you, for now.”

“I can even prove it!” What?

“What the fuck are you saying? Keep your pants ON!” Ricky squawked, trying to get out of Gyuvin’s monstrous grip. 

“What? NO! I was gonna show you what I was doing in my room!”

“Gyuvin, can you be normal?!” Ricky broke free and covered his face, scandalized and flushed red. 

“Wait- No!” Kim-Gyuvin-try-not-to-say-no challenge failed, approximately four times within the span of just 5 minutes. World shattering record. “I was doing an essay! I’ll even get my laptop!” 

“And see what atrocities lie inside? Hell no!” 

“I’m serious! I really was just doing an essay..” Gyuvin pouts. “Why won’t you believe me?” He whines. Ricky tries to pretend that it didn’t do something to him deep inside, probably disarming several of his main body functions. 

“I’ll let it go.. for now.”

“Okay, Elsa.” Gyuvin said smugly, looking proud at his joke.

“Okay, jerking master. Fucking pervert– AH!” Ricky retorts, smug until Gyuvin tackled him onto the couch, ruthlessly tickling him. He yelps in surprise, trying to pry Gyuvin off of him.

“QUBING. STOP!” Ricky laughs, weakly attempting to punch Gyuvin, who’s unrelenting with his jabbing.

By the end, Ricky’s arms are raised above his head, laying down on the couch panting and heaving. “You sicko..”

Gyuvin sat on top of him, also huffing in exhaustion. “And Kim Gyuvin remains victorious!” Earning him a raised fist by Ricky, still helplessly under a proud grinning Gyuvin. 

Suddenly, they hear a fork drop. 

Gunwook was staring at them on the couch with a flabbergasted expression. “Dude, seriously? In front of my ramyeon? Time and place, you guys.. Absolute freaks.” He retreated back to his room, not bothering to pick up the fork. 

He left Gyuvin and Ricky dumbfounded, staring into the space Gunwook occupied with a horrified expression.

The taller immediately shuffled away, blushing furiously as he pretended to be entranced with the fake potted plant on the coffee table.

Ricky smirked, knowing full well his effect on Gyuvin. Not to say that he isn’t flustered himself, he knows his ears are absolutely doing a tomato color cosplay.

“Ahem. Anywho, do you wanna go to my room?” Gyuvin clears his throat, trying to escape the awkward situation they were in.

“What..?” Ricky looked at him in disbelief.

Gyuvin, probably only realizing the implications of his invite, squealed. “Not like that! Ugh, Rwicky..” He whines again.

Ricky would like to see Gyuvin whining in a different context and situation.

For the sake of not being branded a pervert, that was a joke. But it's also on the bucket list.

“I know, I know.” He teasingly smiles. “Sure, then you can show me what you were beating it off to.”

Gyuvin pales. “Enough!” Gyuvin clenched his fists, Ricky laughing at the overreaction.

..

Gyuvin’s room is cozy.

The best way he could put it is branding it as classic. The mismatched socks littered all around, the unmade bed, the posters of various movies and cartoons stuck onto the wall. Everything about it was so high school .

Half of Gyuvin’s room was essentially occupied by his massive wooden king-sized bed, and the unorganized placement of his clothing racks, which, frankly should not be in the middle of the room, nor should they take up that much space. That’s rich coming from Ricky, actually. Maybe he takes that back.

Ricky traverses through the room, standing in front of Gyuvin, who sat down on his bed with a flop.

He takes a second to admire the aesthetic. The room was so boyishly cliché, but it was Gyuvin, in his true essence. 

Warm lighting and the striking smell of Gyuvin’s natural scent. Honestly, if he were in an omegaverse world, he definitely would've gone into heat. What? Ricky's been finding himself sounding more and more insane as the weeks go by.

“So, what do you think?” Gyuvin asks, hands behind his back, an expectant look on his face.

Ricky pretends to think.

“It's like a copy-and-paste of some American frat boy's room.”

The other's lips slightly turn upright. “Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment.” Gyuvin pats next to hip, looking at Ricky with an inviting smile. “See? No atrocities lying out here.” He opens his arms smugly.

Oh, Gyuvin was practically begging for Ricky to snark a comeback. Ricky’s eyes darted around the room, inspecting every minuscule detail. Until he finally found the incriminating evidence laying on top of Gyuvin’s bedside drawer.

“Yeah? What’s that behind you?” Ricky pointed, the side of his lips quirking up proudly.

Gyuvin turned so fast he might as well have gotten whiplash. One look give 'em whiplash.

“What?” Gyuvin scratches his head, staring at the incriminating evidence: a bottle of Aveeno lotion. “Huh? Rwick.. I’m not really seeing your point here.”

“Hello? Bottle of lotion, box of tissues next to it?” Ricky shrugged, head tilted. 

It’s funny to see how he could visualize the cogs in Gyuvin’s brain right now. Until, it finally clicked. And Ricky knew by the telltale sign of Gyuvin cupping his cheeks and burning up.

“YAH! IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS!”

“Whatever you say, pretty boy.” Yeah, he’s been waiting a long time (the whole day) to use that. Ricky relishes in the way Gyuvin visibly burns.

“I have dry skin! And I always have a runny nose!” Gyuvin defends himself in vain. 

“Gyub, there’s nothing wrong with jacking off. No shame here, I'll even ignore how the tissues are half-finished.”

“I hate you."

“You wish you could.” 

Gyuvin rolls his eyes, making an audible sound of annoyance before patting the space next to him, a silent invitation.

He looks away, pretending to admire the furnishing, when in truth, he was actively trying to prepare his brain to sit next to Gyuvin. On his bed. Who knows what Gyuvin’s done on this fuckass bed? As a man of God, Ricky should be mindful, as he should be.

They were quiet for some time. That time being around half a minute, which was a rather peaceful one until Gyuvin randomly started. "I was actually planning on getting a bean bag to accentuate the aesthetic of my room.” 

Ricky raised an eyebrow. “Aesthetic? With what space? You’re already doing an amazing job with serving.. nothing.”

Gyuvin gasps, and Ricky has to fight his inner demons in order to not stare at Gyuvin’s expressiveness. Of course, he still manages to catch a glimpse of Gyuvin’s pouting and it just hits him like a punch to the face. Gyuvin is so adorable it might as well actually be illegal.

“Yah.. Hao-hyung’s been rubbing too much on you!”

“Yeah. And you've been rubbing your dick too much."

With a battlecry, Gyuvin tackled him into the bed, the feeling getting all too familiar for Ricky. Can't say he doesn't enjoy being manhandled, though. 

"WAIT. I WAS JOKING! QUBING!!" Ricky immediately went for Gyuvin's cheeks, squishing it as a plead to halt. 

"Rwe.. ky..!" Gyuvin spoke with a murderous intent, cheeks pushed together making him look more like a sad deflated pufferfish. 

He let go, giggling at the annoyed pout on Gyuvin's face, rubbing his cheeks in what's probably faux hurt.

"Anyway. Where's this bean bag even going?" Ricky signals to the rest of the room, which evidently was already compressed as it is.

Gyuvin pointed at a corner that looked like it could only fit an ottoman. Judging by how Gyuvin wants a big enough bean bag to accommodate his size, he really can’t imagine it fitting. Ricky raises an eyebrow while looking at the other. “Gyuvin. That won’t fit.”

“Heh. Not the first time I’ve heard that.” He says, smugly rubbing his chin like he was some fuckass philosopher with a monocle. 

Ricky’s mouth drops. He says nothing, just stares at Gyuvin, who’s holding back laughter aggressively.

“You know what? Get out!” Ricky playfully nudges Gyuvin off the bed, pouting and pretending to hate the joke. 

“Wow. In my own room!? You’re lucky I need to pee, Ricky-yah..” Well, if he really needed to that badly, Ricky has a mouth right here.

..

No comment. He can’t believe he just thought that. Ricky needs a UFO to come and abduct him and reprogram his wiring to be more normal post-Hao influence. In fact, nuke the whole world and wipe it off the face of the universe. 

“Out!!” Ricky points at the door, nonplussed by his own thoughts. May God forgive him for sinning in his thoughts and words.

Gyuvin gets up from the bed and totters over to the door with a chuckle. He takes one look at Ricky, giving him a precious smile that honestly had his heart doing somersaults, and maybe him if he were athletic enough.

The door was slightly ajar. It bothered him a bit – no, like a lot, actually – but he’s also too lazy to get up and close it fully. Besides, it’s just Gunwook who’s in the apartment, good old Matthew’s number one dildo Gunwook.

He sighs, laying down on the bed with a plop. Hugging a nearby pillow, he inhaled the scent, flooding his senses with just the pure, unadulterated, and overwhelming scent. Is it bad to say if Gyuvin weren’t here, he’d be doing unspeakable things to this pillow?

Maybe him calling Gyuvin a pervert was just an act of projection.

Ricky shakes his head, pulling out his phone from his pocket. He feels like some blue haired guy laying on a bed, hugging himself and listening to music on his headphones that may or may not come from DRAMAtical murder.

GIRLS by aespa

Woongie: Somebody please tell Taerae to reply to my messages. Tell him I’m sorry.

zhanghaotopworldstar: girl what did u do

Woongie: I can’t tell, I’m sorry.. Taerae.. Jagiya.. If you see this, I love you. 😭

MASHU: i told him u were sorry n he told me to fuck off

MASHU: bro what did u do jhyung 😭

Woongie: I ate the last slice of cake he was saving for today. 😢 If only I could turn back time..

zhanghaotopworldstar: of course its abt food.. taerae you glutton

lovelicky: you guys im so h word rn

MASHU: happy? cuz me 2

Woongie: Me too, Ricky-ah... I feel hurt.. because I hurt Taerae..

zhanghaotopworldstar: girl.. HYUNG STAND UP IZ REALLY NAWT THAT SERIOUS

zhanghaotopworldstar: also rui do u mean horny or..

lovelicky: yeah 😺

TARAE: OMG IMPOTENT RICKY GETS HORNY YALL…

Woongie: BABE PLEASE RESPOND TO MY TEXTS 😭

TARAE: …

MASHU: OH! i didnt know we were getting freaky like that..

lovelicky: im at this guys house and im hugging his pillows. might dryhump real

zhanghaotopworldstar: WHAT??

MASHU: WHOS HOUSE??

lovelicky: erm.. ill tell u someday

zhanghaotopworldstar: waitt.. nail bite why did i lowkey raise my daughter right

lovelicky: UGH whatever i want him so bad its kind of crazy

TARAE: thank god we r finally getting normal ricky.. we love you rick!! we know its been so hard for you to get it up lately ♥️

TARAE: wait whos this diva that ure gagging over girl

MASHU: ??? @lovelicky

lovelicky: CAN YOU NOT AIR OUT MY BUSINESS?? I GET IT UP PERFECTLY FINE

zhanghaotopworldstar: yeah cuz me n taerae were fighting for our LIVES telling you to NOT order that fuckass bullet vibrator from temu

Woongie: 😱 (TAERAE PLEASE MESSGAGE ME)

TARAE: GIRL TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES AND GET THAT MAN WHOEVER HE IS

zhanghaotopworldstar: hope u douched b4 going there igrl..

lovelicky: oh i did ♥️

TARAE: finger claps 🤏🔥 YESSSSS PURRR

MASHU: YOU GUYS WHO IS THIS MAN WE’RE TALKING ABOUT?>?

lovelicky: im sorry ure in enemy territory rn

MASHU: MAN WTF

A voice alerts Ricky. The voice turns into two and Ricky finds himself curious. It should be just Gyuvin and Gunwook, but the hushed voices that felt purposefully hidden aroused his interest.

He shouldn’t be slowly walking to the slightly open door, but he is. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? Apparently everything, he’ll soon find out.

The first thing he hears already makes him wish it was the last.

“You’re alright with Ricky being in your room?” The voice he discerns as Gunwook’s spoke.

A short pause, before a reply from, unmistakably, Gyuvin came. “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I mean.. you still like him don’t you?” Were they talking about him?

Their voices start getting quieter, toned more cautiously, as if it were clandestine. He shouldn’t be listening, he knows that, but his curiosity betrays him, slowly guiding his legs closer to the door. 

“No? I’ve been over that silly crush for a few months now.”

Ricky’s heart drops, and he feels the heartbreak physically. He puts a hand over his mouth, the other clutching his stomach. Ricky actually feels sick to the stomach. 

“Oh, okay. Have fun, then. Uh, I’ll be in my room.”

“Yeah, thanks for looking out for me, Wooks.” Gyuvin sounded a little too convincing. That’s not right. None of this was right. Didn’t Gyuvin like him?

Ricky feels queasy all of a sudden.

He starts heading over to Gyuvin’s bed, feeling a bit empty. Ricky’s really not sure if he could face Gyuvin right now. Gyuvin, who was his best friend, Gyuvin who was his first crush, and Gyuvin who was supposed to like him back.

All of it was going to shit. The room started feeling too small, the idea of sitting on the bed nauseating. 

Gyuvin walks in, smiling without a care in the world, as if he didn’t knock Ricky’s out of orbit. 

“Hey.” Gyuvin sat next to Ricky, the slight dip of the bed alerting Ricky. Training his face to remain as normal as it could be, he adjusts his posture, leaning into Gyuvin.

“Did you pee well?” 

Gyuvin gives him an amused look. “It’d be weirder if I pissed badly.. Like how would that work? I miss the toilet bowl or something?”

Ricky hollowly laughs, as if rehearsed in his head. It’s easy to get lost in Gyuvin’s words, so he lets him keep babbling on about everything and nothing at the same time.

The rest of the afternoon passes by without a hitch. Ricky smiles, replies after he’s too silent, and he went home after Gyuvin had to work on his project. 

It comes naturally to him, the act of pretending to listen when he just wants to find the nearest gun and shoot himself, though it doesn’t look natural at all.

He can tell Gyuvin knows, judging by the worried glances and constant attempts at cracking jokes, Ricky must not have been that convincing. You really can’t hide emotions when they’re written all over your face like verses. It hurts to know that Gyuvin cares about him, just not in the way he wanted it to be.

Ricky can’t help but think: Is this how it feels to be rejected?

And he knows rejection is normal. Breakups happen everyday, people divorce, and there are worse things that could happen in life. Like for example, dropping your favorite palette and the eyeshadow cracks or even breaks.

Sometimes, he wishes he were more irrational. More emotional, more passionate, braver, even; he should break down and cry, ask Gyuvin why can’t he love him back, why he changed his mind only now.

Instead, Ricky lays down on his bed, staring at the ceiling because nothing can illustrate his emptiness as much as the blank, bare ceiling. Silently crying because there’s no psychological trauma, experience, or environment to validate his emotional desolation. Just himself, there’s nothing or nobody else to blame.

It’s his first crush and first heartbreak. If this is how it usually goes, Ricky doesn’t think he’d ever want to fall in love ever again. For some time, he really thought he had it in the bag with Gyuvin’s supposed reciprocation, though he guesses he did, but not anymore. 

Not everything has to go according to plan, it just hurts when it doesn’t. Ricky’s never been the type to expect everything to go his way, he just wanted this one little thing to work out. And it didn’t, and that’s okay.

He hates how he knows he’ll be okay with the passage of time. Somehow, the thought of getting over Gyuvin twists the knife in his heart a little more.

..

A week has passed since his castle crumbled down.

The time reads 1:39 AM, and Ricky’s huddled in his sheets scrolling on TikTok. Which has been plagued by Gyuvin’s lingering influence. Everything reminds him of Gyuvin, from mangoes, to dogs, puppies, and even trees, of all things. Gyuvin planted seeds in his house of stone, and now Ricky can’t really say he minds the vines and flowers that almost make him feel better.

He’s not that sad about it anymore. Ricky still talks to Gyuvin, autonomously replies to the TikToks sent, yearning for the flirty jokes to mean something more than just some sick and twisted joke.

Ricky supposes it’s karma, for doing nothing about Gyuvin’s initial feelings. Gyuvin got away in the end. Hence, the constant streaming of Chappell Roan’s “The Subway” on Apple Music.

Hao actually called for an intervention due to this alarming sign of ‘gay depression’ as he had dubbed it.

“Girl. Why have you been streaming The Subway for 5 days straight?” Hao asked him, concern laced all over his features.

“You know, that’s a telltale sign of gay heartbreak.” Taerae said nonchalantly while taking a bite off of his Onika burger.

“Exactly, Rae. Gay depression.” Hao huffed. “In fact, I bet you’re even playing it right now!” 

Ricky opened his mouth in protest, eyebrows furrowed defensively, but the two taps of Taerae’s finger on his phone screen only proved Hao right.

 

Apple Music

The Subway

Chappell Roan 

 

“Ugh.” Ricky rubs his temples with a hand. “Ge, Rae.. I just got rejected.”

The two gasped loudly, Hao even standing up in pure shock.

“There’s no fucking way.” 

Ricky raised his eyebrow, unable to take their shock seriously with Chappell singing her pussy out in the background. “Yeah, there is. According to Chappell Roan, she’s got a way.”

“Ricky, take those damn AirPods out and sit the fuck down.” Taerae clasped his hands together on the table, much like a businessman in a transactional meeting.

He acquiesced, putting the pods back in their case before he shakily sighs.

Before he could even start, the two of them leaned over the table and hugged him. God, Ricky could already feel the slight burning at the back of his nose and eyes. He loves his friends, truly.

“I’m sorry,” he sniffs into a tissue after the two of them sat down. “My ass literally got rejected.”

“Oh, baby..” Hao presses a comforting hand on Ricky’s on the table.

“Wait, girls, context? Who. made. this . angel cry?!” Taerae squawks, raising a fist to no one in particular.

Ricky’s face only breaks more at the unintentional mention of Gyuvin’s signature catchphrase. That stupid, fuckass thing Gyuvin invented with Hanbin, he still hears it at the back of his head every time he eats food alone. Okay wait, he’s being a bit too overdramatic.

He takes a deep breath. “It’s Gyuvin. I like Gyuvin back, well, I like Gyuvin. And I guess he doesn’t like me back.. anymore.” 

Then, Ricky told them everything. Starting from the realization of his feelings, then the moment he knew that he was too late.

Of course, it wouldn’t be his friends if they didn’t crack a few jokes about his tragic and miserable week. With phrases like: 

“Oh, girl. The right person, wrong time tropes are getting your ass bad..” and “At least you can relate to more songs now?” From Hao and Taerae respectively. They didn’t help with the overwhelming urge to slit his throat but they got a laugh or two out of him.

His reminiscing of the past (literally just two days ago) is interrupted when a familiar ringtone calls him. The one Gyuvin forcefully set on his phone that one hangout during summer, of Gyuvin poorly attempting to sing the default Apple ringtone.

Ricky sat up, rubbing his eyes and blinking at the screen.

Incoming Call

gyub<3

He picks up after the second ring.

“Hello?” Gyuvin’s soft voice immediately greets him, slightly hushed due to the late hour.

He gulps, trying to clear his throat from how dry it was. “.. Hi.”

“You left me on delivered..” Despite the phone call, he could still hear Gyuvin’s pout. Ricky’s been really missing that pout over the course of this dreadful week.

“Oh.” 

He quickly tabs out of call on his phone, going to KakaoTalk to confirm, and there he saw it:

 gyub<3

gyub<3: hi ricky! hope ur still awake

gyub<3: can i call you?

Texts from over 17 minutes ago.

Um. This is awkward. “I’m sorry, Gyub. I promise, I really didn’t notice and I was-” Ricky blurts out, panicking at the idea of angering Gyuvin, which realistically would never happen, not in a millenia. The idea of an enraged Gyuvin might do things to him, though.

“Woah, hold on there. It wasn’t that serious.” Gyuvin interrupts him, his tone holding a sense of concern. “Yah, are you really okay? You’ve been.. off lately.” Gyuvin’s tone carried a sense of wariness that only served to make Ricky feel more guilty.

“Mm, yeah. I’m sorry.” There’s nothing Ricky could really say to explain himself. He took in a breath, about to continue until Gyuvin interrupts.

“Ricky-yah. Stop apologizing!!” Gyuvin all but politely butts in. “The only thing you should be apologizing for is our streak that would’ve died yesterday if I didn’t spam you!!”

Alright, it was his fault, he’ll give Gyuvin that. They’ve been going 27-days strong, almost reaching that pivotal one month milestone. He didn’t forget about the streak on purpose, of course, he supposes he just had to pull a Yves - Viola and needed some space, space, space, space from Gyuvin.

“Okay.”

Crickets.

What else was he supposed to say? Why did Gyuvin call again?

“So?” Ricky said after a second too long of silence. 

He heard shuffling from Gyuvin’s side, probably him settling into his bed. God, Ricky kind of misses Gyuvin’s room. He feels that formative experience got ruined by the storm that came after it.

“Hm?”  

Ricky internally sighed. Gyuvin’s evil for making an introvert start the conversation proper. “Um. Why did you call?”

“Oh. I just wanted to hear your voice, right now.” Gyuvin said, like it was the most simple thing in the world. Ricky supposes it was, but he can’t help the way his heart stuttered in its tracks. “Good morning, by the way.”

“Mh.” He fears he’s been rendered useless, only able to give small sounds of reaction. The Gyuvin-effect, if you will. Actually, more like the Gyuvin-relapse effect.

“No good morning too~?”

When did Kim Gyuvin become such a tease? Ricky reddens. Has he always been like this? Or is it just some confidence that comes after making the campus heartthrob your friend slash fall-in-love with you?

“.. Good morning. Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Ricky grumbles, embarrassed even through the phone.

“Actually, I did have an ulterior motive for calling you tonight.” Right. That’s all men do, fearfully. Lie and lie and lie again!

“Okay. Do I need to prepare the block button?”

“What?! No!” Gyuvin audibly sighed, exasperated. “I was gonna ask you if.. you mayhaps wanted to go to my birthday party?”

Oh my god. How could Ricky forget? 

He didn’t even reply, tabbing out once again to his calendar app. Lords, bless his soul. It’s August 26. He has a whopping four days to plan for this fuckass birthday. What would he even get Gyuvin for his birthday? Ricky absent-mindedly plays with the key charm on his phone. 

Gyuvin gave him something he’d cherish forever, what could he do to pay it back? Decisions, decisions..

“Hey, Rwick? Uh. Sorry, it’s okay if you’re too busy..”

Now Gyuvin’s dejected voice really felt like a needle straight to his heart.

“No. I’m going. I was just thinking of what to get you.” He says truthfully, never been one to do surprises well.

Gyuvin makes a choked sound. “Ricky!! Yah, don’t get me anything!”

“Yes, I will.”

“No, you won’t!”

“Why wouldn’t I? You deserve a good gift. Think of it.. as a donation!” Ricky playfully says, playing with the stray hair on his forehead.

“Uh.. That was actually.. awfully sweet of you. Wait, yah! Ricky. Just don’t get me anything. Please?” If Ricky could see Gyuvin’s eyes right now.. He shivers at the thought. Those puppy-eyes are quite literally the most lethal thing he’s ever laid eyes upon.

“Well, yeah. ‘Cause Apgujeong-boy over here got it all.”

“Not your heart, though.”

Oh? Ricky’s heart was quite literally doing somersaults, and if it wasn’t 2 AM in the morning right now, he’s sure he’d be doing pirouettes around his room with flowers flying around. Is Gyuvin-nation back? Gyuvin-nation is so fucking back.

“U-um?” He stuttered.

“Sorry. Your reaction was kinda cute.. though?” Gyuvin’s voice slowly started sounding like his intrusive thoughts were coming out, as if he were starting to regret speaking with every single word.

The surge of adrenaline running through Ricky’s veins was actually crazy. “Mm. T’was a moment of weakness.” Ricky tried to do a British impression, the syllables only stumbling out of his mouth awkwardly. Gyuvin, like the Tom Holland to his Zendaya, of course, obnoxiously laughed.

It’s crazy how one call with Gyuvin revived him from the apparent ‘rejection’ experienced a week ago. Maybe he was just too scared of the prospect of not having him. He could have Gyuvin in other ways, he supposes.

Though, Ricky’s disappointed at how quick his character development was to get over this tribulation. If he had it his way: ideally, Gyuvin and Ricky wouldn’t talk for a month, only for one or the other to break down and call (Ricky definitely could NOT handle that).

And then they’d kiss (hehe), profess their love for one another, get married, and live a long, happy life.

“So, you coming?” Damn right he’s coming.. onto his sheets.

“Yep.” 

Ricky says, playing it as cool as ever. Gyuvin is in it for a treat, August 30 should be scared of him . Tread lightly, the entire immediate population of Seoul National University should be wary of the dangers to come. The lethal facecards and stunning outfits, he’ll make the next 

In fact, he’ll start it right now.

@shenricky posted on Instagram