Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Hey, roomie!”

When Sungho opens his apartment door and finds Myung Jaehyun on the other side, arms laden with bags and stacks of cardboard boxes behind him, he almost slams the door shut right then and there.

However, because his parents raised him right, he forces a smile onto his face, holds up a hand, and grits out, “Give me a second, please.”

And then he shuts the door with a little more force than necessary.

He can feel the fur on his tail sticking straight up, making it poofy, but he has bigger problems right now.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

There’s silence on the other side of the phone, and then Sanghyeok asks, “What exactly is this about?

“My new roommate situation!” Sungho whisper-yells into his phone, acutely aware of who is on the other side of his not-very-soundproof door, and then pauses. “Wait, what else could this be about?”

“I told you I’d find someone to replace me and that they’d be moving in today,” Sanghyeok says, ignoring Sungho’s question with the subtlety of a truck. “Jaehyun’s a good roommate; I roomed with him freshman year, remember? He’s only messy in his personal spaces, and neat everywhere else.”

Sungho groans, hand coming up to run through his hair. “He’s… he’s a dog!”

“Ok, and I’m a human.” He can practically hear Sanghyeok rolling his eyes through the phone. “I thought you didn't subscribe to such old-fashioned ideas about cats and dogs.”

Fine. The problem isn’t really that Jaehyun is a dog hybrid. It’s that he’s Myung Jaehyun.

Jaehyun can be loud, touchy, and hyper. All of those are fine when he’s just a friend of a friend—in fact, Sungho likes hanging out with Jaehyun in small doses.

Living with him is a different situation.

“Could it be…” Sanghyeok says after Sungho fails to reply, “your little crush on Jaehyun?”

Alright, so maybe there’s another reason that living with Jaehyun would not be ideal: Sungho is kind of interested in him. He wouldn't go so far as to call it a crush, but it could still be a very big problem.

“Shut up,” he hisses, and Sanghyeok just laughs. “I have to go. He’s been in the hallway for at least five minutes.”

His friend stops laughing to let out an exaggerated gasp. “You left him out there for—”

Sungho hangs up.

He takes a deep breath, makes sure that his tail is back to normal, and maybe checks his hair in the entryway mirror. Maybe. He’s also reminded of the fact that he’s wearing a ridiculously large Barça jersey and his oldest pair of sweatpants, but he can't afford to be embarrassed because there's nothing that he can do about it now.

Instead, he opens the door.

Jaehyun looks up from his phone, pocketing it and pushing himself off of the wall he was leaning on. His hair is a little messier than before, as if he’d been running his fingers through it.

“Is this a bad time? I would have texted you in advance, but Sanghyeok said that he would tell you.”

Sungho’s going to throttle his friend the next time he sees him. Sanghyeok had told him that his roommate would be moving in at some point in the afternoon, but he’d conveniently left out the most important part, which is that said roommate is Myung Jaehyun. A heads-up would have been nice, to say the least.

“You’re alright, don't worry. I just lost track of time and forgot,” he replies, well-aware of how lame he must sound. “Come, uh, make yourself at home. Ha… ha.”

Goddammit. Sanghyeok is rubbing off in him, and now Jaehyun is looking concerned at the sound of his forced laughter, though there’s a glint in his eye that’s a little too knowing for comfort. He doesn’t want to think too hard about it.

“Here, I’ll help you with your stuff,” he says, ducking behind Jaehyun to grab a stack of boxes and also to get out of his sight.

He can do this. He can live with Myung Jaehyun. Everything is fine.

— ✦ —

The first time Sungho had met Jaehyun, just partway through his first semester at college, he had been a bit drunk.

Taerae, his roommate, had convinced him to go out for karaoke, which meant that Sungho had forced Sanghyeok to be his plus-one. Of course, everyone else had also chosen to bring a plus-one, and some of the plus-ones had also brought their own plus-one, so karaoke night had quickly expanded from a small group activity to an affair of over twenty people, most of whom Sungho had never met before in his then-short university career.

Once people had started pouring into the karaoke room, he’d started downing a few shots, because there was no chance that he was going to sing in front of this many people sober.

It was once those drinks had started kicking in that Sanghyeok had arrived, another boy trailing in his wake. Slightly out of it, Sungho had stared at him, taking in a pair of dog ears nestled in fluffy dark brown hair and round eyes. A grey plaid shirt had been falling off of his shoulders, betraying his identity as an engineering student.

It wasn’t until Sanghyeok started talking that Sungho realized that they had reached him. “This is—” Sanghyeok had started, but he’d been cut off by Taerae belting to an izi song. Sungho had squinted at him, leaning forward in an attempt to hear his friend more clearly, and Sanghyeok had tried again. “This is Jaehyun, my roommate.”

Jaehyun had waved brightly at him, his big smile causing his nose to scrunch, and Sungho had waved back aimlessly, feeling a little bit like his limbs were floating. After that he had taken another shot, seeking the (temporary) grounding effect of alcohol.

The rest of the night had passed in snippets: Sanghyeok freestyling to a Dynamic Duo song, Jaehyun rapping to said Dynamic Duo song, Taerae pulling Sungho into some Disney duet, Jaehyun smiling at him again, someone screeching a rock song as Jaehyun had tried to make conversation with him, and so on.

Needless to say, it was an embarrassing affair that he barely remembers.

— ✦ —

It only takes one week of school for him to realize that he doesn't have any time to devote to thinking about Jaehyun.

Between his classes, the band club, and his tutoring lessons, Sungho’s schedule is full. Jaehyun is just as busy as he is, so during the week, they usually only see each other early in the morning and late at night.

Honestly, Sungho sees Jaehyun’s laundry more often than he sees the man himself.

They had eaten dinner together one night, though, when Jaehyun had arrived home just as Sungho had started stir-frying some pork.

Jaehyun had perked up as soon as he’d seen Sungho at the stove, eyes lighting up and nose poking out of his plaid scarf to take in the smell. His tail had been hidden inside of his jeans, but Sungho could imagine it wagging.

He had looked so eager that Sungho had waved his spatula at him and said, “If you wash up quickly, we can eat together.”

Jaehyun’s posture had slouched then, as if he was reining his excitement in, but his ears had remained upright, betraying his interest. “Oh, but I don't want to take any of your food.”

“I can't finish all of this anyway,” he’d insisted, turning back around to face the stove. Technically, the leftovers were going to be his lunch for the next day, but what Jaehyun hadn't known wouldn’t hurt him.

With his back to Jaehyun, Sungho hadn't been able to see him, but he could imagine the feelings warring across his face—anticipation, guilt, and most important of all for a college-aged boy, hunger.

“Thank you,” he’d finally heard from behind him. “I’ll be quick, I promise! And I’ll do the dishes for the rest of the week.”

As expected, hunger had won.

Jaehyun had emerged from his room just as Sungho had finished setting the table, swathed in a large dusty blue hoodie and loose pajama pants. A pair of glasses had been perched on his nose, and he’d been rubbing at his eyes behind them.

He had looked so cozy that Sungho could only stare at him, committing the image to memory. It hadn’t been until Jaehyun had asked him if something was wrong that he’d looked away, cheeks flushing at being caught.

Their conversation during dinner had flowed more easily than Sungho had expected. It had been nice, really, to commiserate over long hours spent in lab classes and longer hours spent hunched over a desk studying. Jaehyun isn’t a pharmacy major like Sungho, but he’s studying biomedical engineering, meaning that he’s got just as much work.

But aside from that dinner, they’ve had few proper interactions. When they do have free time, which is usually on the weekends, they each end up doing their own thing.

Sometimes, if they have leftovers, they’ll leave them in the fridge with a sticky note to signal that the food is communal. Sungho usually leaves the sticky note blank, but Jaehyun is fond of drawing little hearts and faces on them. It makes his chest feel funny every time, no matter how hard he tries to tamp the feeling down.

The amount of time that they spend together is perfectly normal for roommates, if Sungho’s being honest, but he can't say that he isn't disappointed that he hasn't gotten to know Jaehyun better.

In a friendly way, of course.

— ✦ —

Sungho has a glorious Saturday ahead of him: hours upon hours of FIFA.

He’d had a late morning, meaning that his first meal of the day was lunch, and now he’s free for the rest of the day.

He’s just brushed his teeth, and he runs a comb through his hair before stepping out of his bathroom and into his room. Everything looks neat, so he grabs his phone from his desk and heads to the living room, only to stop short before he can sit on the couch.

For some reason, Jaehyun is lying on the ground, cheek against the floor.

He’s in a striped zip-up hoodie and black cargo pants, which is all that Sungho can see of his outfit because he’s lying on his stomach. His limbs are splayed in a way that resembles a starfish, and he’s wearing a pout on his lips.

Their schedules have aligned more these days, so they’ve been talking more often, which is why Sungho feels comfortable asking, “You good?”

Jaehyun turns his head to look at him. His expression is forlorn, though the fact that his ears are relaxed makes it clear he’s exaggerating it a little bit. He opens his mouth as if to speak, but all that comes out is a listless sigh.

He’s dressed to go outside, but Sungho’s pretty sure that Jaehyun had woken up even later than he had, which means that he probably hasn’t gone out yet. He also remembers Jaehyun saying something about his friends a few days ago, so he hazards a guess.

“Did you have plans for today?” he asks, perching on the arm of the couch.

Jaehyun rolls over, flopping onto his back, before nodding. “I was going to go to Seongsu with Hanbin and Sohee, but Hanbin is feeling sick and Sohee had to pull an all-nighter on Thursday night because of a group project, so I’m pretty sure that he’s still asleep, and so now I don't know what to do because I got ready and everything and…”

He trails off, gazing up at the ceiling. There’s still a small pout on his lips, and sure, it might be exaggerated, but the disappointment in his eyes is real.

Hanbin and Sohee are two of Jaehyun’s closest friends, and they’re also engineering majors. Like Jaehyun, Sohee is a puppy, but Hanbin is, like, a hybrid hybrid, because he has both cat and hamster features. Honestly, Sungho doesn't really know the specifics, and he has bigger things to focus on right now.

It only takes a few seconds of staring at Jaehyun on the floor before Sungho reaches a conclusion: There are a lot of things that he would sacrifice to make Jaehyun happy, and unfortunately for his weekend plans, FIFA is (reluctantly) one of them.

Because he’s a good roommate. Obviously.

“If you still want to go, I wouldn’t mind going with you.”

Jaehyun lifts his head up in a sudden motion, ears perking up. “Really?” His eyes go wide, big enough that he can see the reflection of the overhead light in them.

He nods. “It’s been a while since I’ve gone to Seongsu, so it’d be fun.” The last time he’d gone had been halfway through the previous semester, when Taerae had been looking for a new sweater and a pair of sunglasses. Sungho hadn’t ended up buying anything himself, but he’d liked the relative quiet of the non-shopping streets and the proximity to the park.

Jaehyun sits up, jacket sliding off of one shoulder with the action. “Are you sure? I don't want to mess with your weekend plans.”

Sungho snorts, then immediately feels bad when Jaehyun wilts at the sound, ears flopping down. He appreciates the concern, but he almost never has actual weekend plans aside from studying, going to the gym, or cafe hopping with one of his friends.

“I was just going to play FIFA all day, so going outside and getting some fresh air is probably a better idea. I just need a few minutes to get ready.”

“Thank you. I really do appreciate it.” And now Jaehyun’s looking directly at him, his gaze genuine in its appreciation and weighty with honesty, and it’s kind of a lot for Sungho’s heart to take, so he turns tail and nearly runs back to his room.

Since he hadn’t planned on going out today, he hadn’t picked out an outfit the night before, which means that he doesn’t have time to experiment.

Opening his closet, he pulls out an white t-shirt and a pair of light-wash jeans, which is his go-to combination. It’s already early April, which means that he can afford to go with a thin cardigan rather than a proper jacket. A spritz of perfume and a thin necklace later, he’s ready to go.

Jaehyun’s still on the floor when he leaves his room, but he gets up when he sees Sungho.

“Are you really sure you want to go?” Jaehyun’s eyes are wide with concern, but they’re such a textbook example of puppy dog eyes that Sungho wouldn't be able to refuse him anything even if he wanted to.

“I’m starting to think that you don't want me to go with you,” Sungho replies, adopting a faux-serious tone as he leans down in the entryway to put his shoes on.

Jaehyun sits down beside him to pull on a pair of sneakers, then looks up sharply at Sungho’s words, eyes wide.

“No, no, please come with me! I’d like that…” Jaehyun’s voice drops in volume as he sees the way that Sungho’s lips are quivering to keep his smile contained, and the fingers wrapped around his laces freeze mid-motion. Glaring lightly, he pouts as Sungho laughs, cheeks puffing out.

“Actually, I’ve changed my mind,” he declares, turning his nose up, but he still holds the door open for Sungho as they leave.

Sungho would be lying if he said the action didn't make his heart skip a beat.

— ✦ —

The subway ride isn't too long, but Saturday afternoons are always busy, so they end up standing side by side, hands gripping the overhead handles.

About halfway through, a seat opens up. Jaehyun has earbuds in, so Sungho uses his tail to nudge him instead of talking, tilting his chin in the direction of the open seat. After following his gaze, Jaehyun only elbows him in response instead of moving to sit. They spend long enough exchanging nudges that an older woman ends up sitting down during their silent argument, and Sungho can't help but giggle quietly at the situation, Jaehyun smiling wryly a moment later.

It’s only a few stops after that before they get off, weaving through the subway station until they find the right exit.

Jaehyun already has a basic course planned, so Sungho lets him take the lead. They start with a clothing shop that requires descending a winding staircase to reach, and then they move to a sunglass shop.

Sungho is almost certain that he’d come here with Taerae, but it feels like a new experience with Jaehyun. He’s pretty sure that Jaehyun manages to try on at least half of the glasses, regardless of what color they are or whether he expects the frames to suit his face. He laughs more than he has in a long time, taking photos every time that Jaehyun requests one and then some more.

Their next stop is a cafe, where Jaehyun agonizes over which cake flavor to try while Sungho figures out whether he wants a hot or iced americano.

The cafe is decorated in a rather kitschy way, for lack of a better word, and it almost feels like an old house that's been remodeled into a cafe. Faded art prints hang in wooden frames on the walls, and checkered tablecloths cover every table. There's a small army of animal figurines next to the cash register, all glossy ceramics with details painstakingly painted onto them. It's cozy and fun, and Sungho finds himself nodding along to the soft jazz that's playing over the speakers.

They tuck themselves into a table in the corner, setting down a tray laden with two iced americanos and a slice of black forest cake. Sungho’s not a big fan of cherry flavors, but Jaehyun’s eyes widen when he takes his first bite, and barely a moment passes before he’s setting his fork down and, pointing wildly at the cake, quietly chanting, “Who made this?!”

Sungho swivels his gaze around, taken aback by the sudden outburst, but no one else in the cafe seems to have heard Jaehyun, so he shrugs it off. It must be a Jaehyunism.

(He later learns that it’s a Hanbinism that Jaehyun has acquired through osmosis. Or something like that.)

“You should have some,” Jaehyun tells him, pushing the plate towards him with one hand as he swirls his straw in his glass with the other. “It’s rich, but not too heavy.”

He opens his mouth to refuse, but Jaehyun’s eyes are bright with anticipation, and so, ears perking up, he finds himself taking a bite.

All things considered, it’s actually pretty good. The cherry sauce contains real pieces of fruit, and it tastes far from artificial, which is what Sungho normally has an issue with. The fruit is tart enough to balance out the chocolate, and the sponge has enough structure to avoid feeling greasy with the cream.

Eyebrows rising, he hums. “It’s good,” he says, and Jaehyun smiles, eyes crinkling in the corners and cheeks rosy with joy.

“I’ve tried four—well, now five—of their cake flavors, and I’ve never failed. This place is one of my favorite spots in Seongsu, and I’ve never told anyone about it before.”

Suddenly, it feels like he’s being entrusted with a big secret, which he supposes is a silly thing to feel about a cafe. It probably doesn’t mean much to Jaehyun, who offers pieces of himself to others as easily as breathing, but Sungho can still feel a weight to his words.

“We should come back here sometime and try another cake flavor,” he replies carefully, and Jaehyun leans forward on the table, eyes shielded by his lashes, as he uses his fork to cut a bite from the cake. The motion sends a light waft of amber in Sungho’s direction, warm and sweet.

“Sounds like a plan.” Jaehyun’s gaze flits up to him for only a second before he take a bite, gentle smile still on his lips.

Sungho can feel a blush rising on his cheeks for absolutely no reason, and he needs to sip at his iced americano to cool down.

Absolutely no reason at all.

— ✦ —

They slowly move west, stopping by a stationery store and a few more clothing stores on the way.

After the final clothing store, they make their way down a few alleyways. They’re lined with small bakeries and stores, and Sungho is so distracted as he tries to take it all in that he doesn’t notice the park until he’s passing through its entrance.

Unlike what many Seoul residents may think, Wonju is a city. Sungho’s not actually a country bumpkin just because he grew up in the provinces. But he’d grown up within walking distance of a park, and the air in his neighborhood had always carried a faint smell of grass, and his parents had taken him on short hikes in the mountains when he was young, and—

He likes green space. So sue him.

Sungho’s lucky to live within a half hour-long commute to his university, but it can be suffocating to always feel like he’s in the middle of the city. There’s a small park near his apartment, but it’s mainly a series of short walking paths, without too many trees.

In contrast, Seoul Forest feels like a park that he could get lost in. The trees are full and paths wind through the park, intertwining with each other before separating again.

They manage to find a bench looking out on the lake, though it takes them a few minutes due to all of the picnickers at the park. Sungho sits down, and Jaehyun settles next to him, a faint warmth radiating off of his body. Their shoulders just barely touch, but the sensation is comforting.

They just sit there for a while, and it's peaceful enough to take Sungho’s mind off of everything. There's a heron standing by the edge of the lake, regal and still, and he watches it for a few minutes.

He’s taken aback when it snaps up a small fish with its beak, and he turns to tell Jaehyun, only to find him with his eyes closed and head tilted back.

Sungho considers waking him, but then he thinks about how late Jaehyun has been coming home from school these days and how common it is for him to fall asleep at the dining table, and decides against it. He’s had to shake him awake and push him towards his room more than a few times, brute forcing his way past Jaehyun’s mumbled protests to make him lie down in bed.

When he looks over, Jaehyun’s lips are parted and his lashes flutter lightly in the breeze. His nose twitches and so do his hands, and Sungho is reminded of those videos of dogs dreaming about running around and chasing squirrels. He has to stifle his laugh with his hand, in case the sound wakes Jaehyun, and turns back towards the lake.

After a few more minutes of watching the lake, he pulls his phone out, plugging in a pair of earbuds. He’s part of one of their school’s many bands, and he’s supposed to listen to three rearrangements of a potential song. Dongmin, their sophomore guitarist, really wants to cover a Penomeco song, and he’s been hard at work adapting it for them.

Sungho hums along to the melody under his breath, keeping track of any feedback he wants to give. It’s easy to zone out like this, listening to music and staring at the park. During the school year, he rarely gets a chance to sit down and do nothing, and he savors the feeling of the breeze on his skin.

It’s only when he checks his watch and realizes that the subways will be busy soon that he decides to wake Jaehyun.

“Jaehyun-ah,” he whispers, lightly shaking his shoulder.

It takes a few moments, but Jaehyun’s eyelids flutter before he opens his eyes, blinking rapidly. Sungho can see the moment that he processes the situation because his cheeks turn pink and his ears stiffen slightly as he sits up properly, the movement causing his earrings to clink against each other.

“How long was I asleep for? I’m so sorry, I didn't mean to—”

“It’s alright,” Sungho says. His hand is still on Jaehyun’s shoulder, and he finds himself rubbing circles into it mindlessly. “I like spending time at the park and besides, you needed the rest.”

Jaehyun opens his mouth as if to speak, but then closes it without a word, likely sensing the slight steel behind Sungho’s words. Sungho’s not one to argue, but he won’t let go of his insistence that Jaehyun needs more rest, and Jaehyun knows that.

“Should we head towards the subway station?” he asks instead, and Sungho nods slowly, standing up and stretching his arms out. He’s pretty sure that he imagines Jaehyun’s eyes following how his shirt lifts slightly with the movement, because Jaehyun’s staring out at the lake in the next moment.

Maybe Sungho is the one who need more sleep, if he's hallucinating like this.

— ✦ —

When he had admitted during dinner that he’s never watched a single Twilight movie, Jaehyun had stared at him, slack-jawed, before maneuvering Sungho over to the couch.

“You don't have any evening plans, do you?” Jaehyun had asked, and Sungho had barely shaken his head no before Jaehyun had grabbed the TV remote.

Sungho’s managed to suppress most of his reactions for Jaehyun’s sake, but he can't help the face he makes when Edward admits that he’s been watching Bella sleep.

“Absolutely not,” he mutters, and Jaehyun looks up from when he’s slouched next to Sungho, catching the tail end of his expression.

“Surprised that it took you so long to say something,” he teases, and Sungho shakes his head slowly.

“I respect your taste,” he starts, trying to figure out how to phrase his thoughts kindly before giving up, “but why?”

Jaehyun just laughs, head thrown back and eyes scrunched up behind the thick black frames of his glasses. “I don’t think that it’s particularly romantic, but it’s so unintentionally funny that it’s iconic. You know?” When his laughter tapers off, his head flops onto Sungho’s shoulder.

Sungho purses his lips, because he doesn’t really get it, but he turns back to the TV anyway and hopes that Jaehyun can't hear the pounding of his heart.

(Jaehyun keeps his head on Sungho’s shoulder for the remainder of the movie, and Sungho lazily wraps his tail around him in response, pretending not to notice when Jaehyun looks up at him in surprise.)

— ✦ —

“Let’s go clubbing next Saturday.”

Sungho looks up to stare blankly at Sanghyeok, who’s fiddling with his tablet stylus. His friend just stares back at him, unfazed.

“I don't even have the brain power to respond right now, so I’ll get back to you in five business days.”

There’s a week left until his midterms, which means that it’s the point in the semester where Sungho seriously considers dropping out of college. The state of the job market is competitive enough even with a college degree, though, and at least he’ll be able to live a somewhat comfortable life with a pharmacy degree, so no can do.

“Don’t you want to let loose post-midterms? It’ll be your only weekend with no assignments until summer break.”

Sungho checks one of his practice problems, hissing when he realizes that he’s made a calculation error. “I plan to pass out and sleep through the entire weekend.”

Sanghyeok grabs his shoulder, shaking it. Despite how small he is, he’s strong enough that the paper in front of Sungho’s eyes starts to blur. “Just two hours of your life. That’s all I ask for.”

He looks up from his review packet, since he can't focus on it anyway. “And one hour to get ready, and at least two rounds of drinks at a pocha beforehand, and over an hour of transportation time because all of the clubs with the tech house music you like are on the other side of the city.”

“But consider,” Sanghyeok says, gripping both of Sungho’s shoulders to stare at him head-on, “the power of our friendship.”

Sungho grimaces, and that’s all it takes for Sanghyeok to start giggling, though he keeps it quiet. Even though they’re in a section of the school library where conversation is allowed, everyone around them is so focused that they can’t afford to be too loud.

“Do you really not want to? I won’t ask again if you aren’t interested at all.”

He leans back in his chair to think, lacing his fingers behind his neck so that he can tilt his head back. Sungho’s not particularly big on going out—there’s a reason that he spends most of his time on the weekends studying, hanging out with his friends, or going to the gym—but once a semester isn’t that bad and he does like the music. And he supposes that he won’t have another opportunity for the rest of the semester, so—

“Fine.”

Sanghyeok lights up, eyes twinkling. “You sure?”

Sungho nods slowly. “Yeah, alright. But I probably won’t stay for that long.”

His friend waves his words off with a shrug. “That’s okay. I’ve already asked some people from dance, along with some of our other friends. That includes Jaehyun, who promised that he would come, so you’re in charge of making sure that he actually shows up properly.”

“You say that like he’s going to run away or something.” Sungho flips to a new page of his packet, groaning when he realizes that he hasn't reviewed the topic yet. This pharmacology class is going to be the end of him.

Sanghyeok snorts. “Jaehyun goes for the music, but he doesn't like getting ready. You’ve got to make sure that he looks good.”

“He’s a fully-grown adult,” Sungho replies, scoffing. “I’m sure that he’ll be fine.”

— ✦ —

“That’s your clubbing outfit?”

Jaehyun hums, barely looking up from where he’s on the couch, scrolling through his phone.

Sungho gapes at him, mouth open. He’d come out of his room to get a drink of water, only to spot Jaehyun in a plain white t-shirt and black track pants.

“Sanghyeok’s going to kill you.”

Jaehyun shrugs, opening his mouth to reply as he looks up at Sungho. And then he seems to glitch, mouth closing and opening repeatedly like a fish.

Normally, Sungho would fold in on himself, but honestly, if there's any night to be confident, it’s tonight, so he just straightens his posture.

He’s got on a pair of wide black jeans, cinched just below his waist with a belt, and a black muscle tee. It’s cropped at his waist, meaning that a strip of skin is already visible and basically any movement exposes most of his stomach. A long pendant necklace hangs from his neck, with a shorter chain necklace layered over it.

The outfit is nothing crazy, but he’d also never wear a shirt this short in any other context, which means that he’s probably done enough for Sanghyeok’s stamp of approval.

This particular pair of jeans also lets him keep his tail out, which he normally wouldn't do at a club, but he can't be bothered to keep it hidden. It’ll be hot enough inside, and he doesn't want to make it any worse.

Jaehyun is still staring up at him, lips parted, and Sungho’s going to start turning red if this doesn't stop. Jaehyun doesn't seem to have any plans to stop anytime soon, though, so he makes an executive decision.

He marches towards Jaehyun, whose eyes widen as he comes closer, then pulls him off of the couch. Jaehyun doesn't make any attempt at resisting, so Sungho directs him easily.

“We’re finding something new for you.”

Jaehyun finally seems to recover the ability to speak just as Sungho pushes him past his bedroom doorway. “What—what’s wrong with my outfit?” he sputters out.

Sungho just tilts his head to the side, raising an eyebrow and channeling Sanghyeok to the best of his ability, and Jaehyun sighs in defeat.

It doesn't take long for him to find a leather jacket and a pair of jeans in Jaehyun’s closet, though he has to maneuver around a small mountain of clothing, and he holds them out towards Jaehyun.

“This is, like, the most low-effort outfit possible. I won’t even make you change your shirt.”

Jaehyun rolls his eyes, but he takes the clothing anyway. “Alright. You can get back to your routine, and I’ll get changed.” A hint of his usual smirk is back on his face when he says the words, so Sungho takes it that he’s recovered from whatever was going on earlier.

He navigates his way out of Jaehyun’s room, sidestepping a stack of textbooks on the ground. “You better be wearing something different by the time we leave!” he exclaims, shutting the door behind him.

Half an hour later, he steps out of his room again. Like earlier, Jaehyun is still on the couch, though he’s lying down this time. And like before, Sungho finds himself taken aback by Jaehyun’s outfit, but for a different reason.

Jaehyun has the leather jacket on. That’s not a surprise. Underneath it, though, he’s swapped out his t-shirt for a black tank top that’s made out of a thin mesh, and his pants are now a pair of black jeans.

In all of his two months of living with Jaehyun, Sungho has never even gotten a glimpse of this tank top, and so this is a new side of Jaehyun that he’s never seen before. All he can do is stare, taking in how good Jaehyun looks.

Has Jaehyun always looked so good? The answer is probably yes, but Sungho has been trying to pretend like he doesn't have a crush on him for the past few months, so he’s been ignoring it. Now, though, the fact that he likes Jaehyun in a non-roommate way is too big to ignore.

Fuck. He’s blaming Sanghyeok for the development of his crush, just because he can. (And also because Sanghyeok is technically the reason that Jaehyun is living here, and if that had never happened, Sungho would have just ignored the way his heart started pounding every time he interacted with Jaehyun until his feelings were fully repressed. Ergo, everything is Sanghyeok’s fault.)

As if he can sense Sungho’s gaze, Jaehyun looks up, a smug expression on his face that only emphasizes the faint smokiness around his eyes. “Are you ready to go?”

Honestly, Sungho doesn’t trust himself to speak, so he just nods, heading to the entryway so that he can put his shoes on. He manages to dig out a pair of combat boots from the very back of their shoe closet and sits down to lace them up. Jaehyun plops down next to him, pulling on a pair of lugged sole boots that, once again, Sungho has never seen before.

“No words about the outfit?” Jaehyun asks, fumbling with the zipper on the side of a boot. His tone is casual, but his ears are perked slightly, betraying his interest.

Sungho tries not to think too much about what that means.

Instead, he pulls at his laces to tighten them, carefully tying them in a bow. “No complaints this time.” There. A fairly neutral statement that hopefully doesn’t hint at the fact that he feels like he’s about to explode.

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Jaehyun turn his head to look behind them, and it’s only then that he realizes that his tail has been smacking the ground in an irregular rhythm, reflecting his emotions.

Goddamnit. When he sees Sanghyeok, it’s on sight.

— ✦ —

Somehow, they make it to the pocha. Sungho feels mostly normal now, which is as good as it’s going to get.

Still, he tips back few shots of soju. The light burn and ensuing warmth is grounding, but he’s also the type to feel perfectly fine until the alcohol hits him all at once, so he’s probably going too fast.

He’s just set down his shot glass when a hand slides a glass of water towards him, and he looks up to see that it belongs to Jaehyun, who’s seated next to him.

“Slow down,” Jaehyun tells him, and his tone is soft, but he doesn't look away until Sungho’s had the whole glass.

Throughout the meal, Jaehyun keeps refilling his glass of water or pushing plates of food in his direction. It’s endearing in a way that is honestly too much for Sungho right now, because he’s in a state where he’s likely to read way too far into anything that Jaehyun does.

Sanghyeok notices, of course, and he wiggles his eyebrows every time that he catches his eye. Sungho can't do anything but lightly bare his teeth at him and scowl, lest anyone else is inadvertently paying attention to their silent exchanges.

By the time that they leave for the club, Sungho’s feeling a little lighter than usual, though he hasn't really had that much to drink. It probably helps that Jaehyun has switched his attention to talking with one of Sanghyeok’s friends, which means that Sungho can sort out his feelings at a later date.

If he hasn’t made it clear already, he’s a big fan of the ignore/repress emotions until they disappear strategy.

There aren't too many people in the club when they arrive, but it’s not long before there's a crowd of people dancing.

Sanghyeok’s in there somewhere, able to get drunk off of music and nothing else, and Jaehyun probably is too, though Sungho’s lost track of where he is. (Because why would he be keeping track of him anyway?)

He doesn't feel like dancing, so he stays at a table, letting the music wash over him as he sips at a glass of water. Today's set leans more towards house music, and he likes the easy groove of it. He nods along to the melody of the vocal sections until he reaches the bottom of his glass, and then he gets up to order an actual drink.

It’s after he’s had a shot of tequila and half of a cocktail that the guy approaches him. Sungho’s spent a half of his time examining the bright pink color of his drink, and the other half complaining about assignments with some of Sanghyeok’s friends. They've left to go dance now, and that's when he turns around to see a guy standing behind him, hands tucked into his pockets and a thin smile plastered on his face.

“Haven't seen you around here before,” he says, voice pitched low in a way that Sungho can tell is unnatural.

Normally, he wouldn't laugh at someone, but the way that this guy is eyeing his body, gaze lingering on his ears and tail, is telling him to get out of this situation as quickly as possible, so he scoffs lightly.

“Has that line ever worked on anyone?”

The guy’s eyes narrow, frown marring his features, and he steps closer to Sungho. He tries to take a step back, but the table is in his way, and so he’s made acutely aware of how much taller the guy is than him.

“No need to get feisty. Usually, people start by introducing themselves.”

His voice—still artificially deep—drips with grease, heavy and nauseating, and Sungho tries to move back despite knowing that he can’t.

“Fuck off,” he spits out, biting his tongue before he says anything else. Even though nothing much has happened, the pounding of his heart sounds as loud as the bass in his ears.

Maybe pissing the guy off was not the answer.

“Hey, now, I thought kittens were supposed to be tame?”

And that has his blood boiling. Sungho’s not new to people taking a look at his ears and making assumptions about him, but the blatant fetishization has him shaking in anger as the guy takes another step forward.

This corner of the club is dark, and it has Sungho wondering if he could punch this guy without anyone noticing, but he looks far broader and heavier than Sungho, and Sungho’s muscles are locked up with fear right now. There's a good chance that Sungho could punch him and nothing would happen, and then he would be the one getting kicked out of the club.

He’s trying to conceal the shakiness of his breathing while weighing his options when a hand appears on the guy’s shoulder.

“Hey, man, what's going on?”

Holy shit. Sungho’s never been so relieved to hear Jaehyun’s voice before, which has a layer of steel to it that he’s never been on the receiving end of.

The guy turns around, thankfully moving away from Sungho with the motion. “What's it to you?” he demands gruffly, crossing his arms. He tries to crowd Jaehyun, who doesn't back away. With his boots on, the height difference between the two of them is far more negligible.

“I would recommend getting away from my friend,” Jaehyun replies, voice eerily calm in a way that makes the hair at the back of Sungho’s neck stand up. He smiles, but there's no humor in it. Instead, it emphasizes the sharp points of his canines.

Sungho's always thought of Jaehyun as puppy-like (for obvious reasons), but he almost looks wolfish in this moment.

Actually, for a brief, horrible second, Sungho almost thinks that Jaehyun resembles Edward Cullen, but he instantly banishes that thought from his head.

The guy looks back at Sungho, one last full-body scan that has him tensing up again, before he huffs, walking away. “Fucking animals,” he mutters under his breath, clearly meant to be loud enough for them to hear.

Sungho watches him go, and then it’s as if all of the fear and anger that was keeping him upright drains out of his body. His legs go weak, and he makes an aborted motion towards the table as if to hold onto it before someone grabs him and stabilizes him.

“Do you want to go home?” Jaehyun asks, hands warm during the brief moment that they’re on Sungho’s waist before he lets go, and he nods. “Alright, then, let’s go.”

They run into Sanghyeok before they leave, who takes one look at them before shooing them out of the club. “Call me tomorrow, alright?” he says, eyebrows furrowed, and Sungho nods. Sanghyeok knows him well enough to know that he won’t want to draw attention to himself right now or debrief in the middle of a club.

Jaehyun calls them a taxi, and they sit in the back, Sungho staring out at the reflections of the city lights on the window. Jaehyun is stiff next to him, deliberately avoiding contact with him as if the slightest brush of skin means that Sungho will lump him in with the guy from the club.

He lets out an exhale and then, without looking, slowly winds his tail around his own thigh and lets the end rest atop Jaehyun’s leg. In his peripheral vision, he can see Jaehyun glance towards him before looking away quickly, but he can feel his fingers run through the fur, and the sensation is soothing.

They make it home, and Sungho stumbles into the entryway of their apartment, leaning down to loosen his shoelaces. Jaehyun follows, unzipping his boots easily and placing them neatly on a shelf in their shoe closet.

In the shower, Sungho lets the hot water run over him, erasing the events of the evening from his skin.

There are times when he wonders if it would be easier to live as a human. No ears, no tail, just normalcy. Logically, he knows that there would still be creeps out there no matter what, but he doesn't like being targeted because of something he can't control. (Who does?)

This isn't the first time that something like this has happened, but it's just as maddening as every other time. He knows that he can't blame himself for freezing up but he can't help but wish that he'd been quicker to respond, more forthright in his rejection, more firm in his tone… even though it's likely that none of that would have mattered.

He takes his time in the shower, turning his thoughts around in his head over and over again until their sharp edges erode into something smoother. It’ll take time for them to become truly smooth, but he reaches a point where he feels better, at least, than he did at the club. For now, that's all he can ask for.

When he steps out of his bathroom after a long time, a sliver of light from the living room peeks under the bottom of his bedroom door. He leaves his room to turn the light off, only to find Jaehyun asleep on the couch. He’d probably been waiting for Sungho to go to bed, but had ended up falling asleep first, and that makes Sungho’s heart hurt.

Gone is the all-black outfit and the light makeup that he had had on. Instead, Jaehyun looks freshly showered, with still damp hair and in a faded graphic tee, the collar stretched enough that his collarbones are exposed.

There's no sign of the wolfish aura that he’d had earlier, and it’s then that Sungho realizes that he’s never, ever felt scared because of Jaehyun.

He rubs at his eyes with a sigh. It’s been a big day for emotional realizations, and he needs to go to sleep.

First, though, he needs to make sure that Jaehyun gets to bed. He owes it to him for tonight, if nothing else.

Jaehyun looks like he’s fully out, without even a twitch of his ear when Sungho calls his name out. He tries shaking him as well, but to no avail. That means that he doesn't have any choice but to reach under Jaehyun and scoop him up, carrying him the short distance to his room.

Jaehyun grunts slightly when he lands in his bed but doesn't wake, instead just rolling over to burrow into his covers. For some reason, there's a textbook tangled in his sheets, and Sungho reaches over to grab it, setting it gently on his desk.

He pads out of the room, closing the door as softly as he can before turning the living room light off and heading to his own room. He collapses into his bed, pulls the covers around him, and promptly passes out.

— ✦ —

They don't talk about that night at the club. Not really.

Jaehyun doesn't say anything the next morning when they sit across from each other to eat breakfast, instead letting Sungho take the lead in their conversation.

So he thanks Jaehyun for his help the previous night, and that's that. It's not that he's all that embarrassed about it—well, maybe a little bit, but not that much. Rather, he prefers to sort things out by himself, and Jaehyun doesn't seem to mind.

After that, band practices ramp up as the school festival approaches, and he cuts back on the gym and his sleep to fit those practices into his schedule, which has him feeling more and more sluggish every day.

Plus, his classes pick up the pace. There’s around a month and a half before his final exams, and the amount of information crammed into each class leaves Sungho’s head spinning every time he steps out of a lecture hall.

Today’s pharmacology class had been especially exhausting, a fact partly attributable to how late band practice had run last night, and he heads for the nearest cafe on campus, desperately in need of a pick-me-up.

He ends up behind one of his classmates in the line, and she strikes up a conversation with him. They’ve been in the same section for nearly all of their pharmacy-related classes, and while he doesn’t know her that well, he’s picked up enough information over the years to nod along in understanding as she talks about her volleyball club.

They’re leaning against a wall as they wait for their drinks when she nudges him in the shoulder. “There’s a guy over there who’s been staring? At us, I think.” She tilts her head slightly to the left, a movement small enough that she can play it off as a stretch.

Sungho’s first thought is that it’s potentially the guy from the club, which makes his ears stiffen, but he forces himself to remain calm as he slides his gaze over to the left, and—

Oh. It’s Jaehyun, seated at a table with a mug in his hand and laptop in front of him, as normal as can be. Except his eyes are on Sungho’s classmate, and there's an odd expression on his face. He’s not glaring, but there's something intense about the way that he’s looking at her, the bright light from a window illuminating the furrow of his eyebrows. His ears are ramrod straight as well, a far cry from how they usually look.

Sungho looks away before he’s caught staring as well, turning his attention back to his classmate as he tries to figure out how to reply. It’s not like he can explain what Jaehyun is thinking when he himself doesn't even know, but he doesn’t want to make Jaehyun out to be a weirdo either.

“He’s my friend. He just looks like that when he’s, uh, spacing out. You know, RBF.” He stumbles over his words in a way that probably isn’t doing him any favors, but he tries to make his gaze as earnest as possible.

She doesn’t look convinced, which is fair because Sungho wouldn’t either if he were her, but she lets it go with only an eyebrow raise, instead asking him a few questions about the content from their earlier pharmacology class.

Their conversation ends when their drinks are ready, and Sungho waves goodbye with one hand as he heads for the door, iced americano clutched in the other. As he pushes the door open, he chances a glance back at Jaehyun, only to find him focused on his work, ears relaxed again. If not for his classmate pointing it out, he’d have thought that he’d imagined Jaehyun’s stare.

It lingers on his mind as he heads to his next lecture, but once he has to start taking notes, it disappears in favor of frantically looking between the slideshow and the whiteboard as he attempts to transcribe everything.

After his class, he has to go to lab, and then sprint to catch the bus to meet his tutees, and then squeeze in a quick dinner before band practice, which ends up running longer than they’d planned for.

It’s safe to say that, by the time his head hits his pillow, Sungho barely remembers the interaction at all.

— ✦ —

Sungho rocks back and forth on his heels, absentmindedly tapping his fingers on his thigh.

Next to him, Dongmin runs his hand up and down the strap of his guitar, which is slung over his back. It's the first time that Sungho has really seen him look nervous.

“You good?” he asks, pitching his voice just high enough to be heard over the current band set.

They're backstage at the school festival, ready to go up on stage once the current group is finished. Next to them, their band members look similarly nervous despite all of the late hours they’ve put into practicing.

Dongmin sucks a breath in, black cat ears flicking with the action, and Sungho turns to look at him again. “I’m fine. It’s just…” he trails off, and Sungho raises at eyebrow at him. “What if they don’t like So let’s go see the stars?”

Because Dongmin is somehow the most extra sophomore that Sungho has ever met, he’s written and produced an original song for them to perform. Sungho has no idea where he gets the time. Dongmin jokes that his spare time is due to him being a business major, but Sungho doesn’t believe him.

Sungho could go on about how good the song is, but he doubts that it would help. Instead, he tries to be as blunt as possible.

“What can you control right now?”

Dongmin shifts his weight between his feet, letting out a sigh as his tail sways in the air. “The performance,” he mutters, and Sungho nods.

“Exactly. And we’ve practiced enough to do well, so just trust yourself.”

Dongmin rolls his eyes at him. “No need to be cheesy, hyung.” But his tail slowly stills behind him, so Sungho will overlook the attitude.

(He still ruffles Dongmin’s hair, though, scratching softly at the base of his ears, and though Dongmin hisses at him, he doesn’t move away.)

It’s not long before the previous band streams backstage, bright smiles lighting up their faces even as they nod politely as Sungho and his bandmates. It’s only a few more minutes before their band gets introduced, and then they’re making their way onto the stage. He lets himself take in the sight of the crowd in front of them for a short moment before steadying himself, readjusting his hands on his guitar until he feels steady. Then, he waits for the sound of the drums to start the song.

Their band is known for covering songs in a variety of genres, no matter how hard they may be to arrange, and it feels like the hours and hours of work have paid off when the crowd practically roars at the sound of Bermuda Triangle.

Sungho’s in charge of Dean and Crush’s parts, while Dongmin has tweaked some of Zico’s lyrics for himself. Though they’d had to alter a fair bit of the instrumental, he’s proud of how they sound.

They ride the energy of the crowd through the rest of their set, flowing from Actually Pt. 2 to So let’s go see the stars, and then Day6 and Olivia Rodrigo covers. They finish it off with a cover of I hate you by WOODZ, where Sungho allows himself to let go of everything but the music. His throat will probably ache later, but it’ll be worth it.

After they play the last note, he steps back from the microphone and takes a good look at the audience again. His chest is heaving and his fingers hurt from gripping his guitar pick so hard, but he can’t stop grinning. It’s almost overwhelming, the realization that they’ve managed to pull off the performance, but in a satisfying way.

When they stumble off of the stage and into the wings and then backstage, he can barely feel his limbs, but none of that matters in the moment.

— ✦ —

The dining table lets out a depressingly dull clunk when Sungho drops his head onto it.

“Fuck this,” he groans, words muted by the fake wood of the table.

There's less than three weeks left until his final exams, so it's the last stretch of the semester, when professors start each lecture talking about how behind schedule the class is before cramming as much information as they can into the lesson. He’s had little time to do much else besides working on his assignments and studying for his exams.

Because he likes routine, he’s the type to study in the same place over and over again. After a few days, though, he’ll inevitably find that he can no longer focus there because he’s become too used to it, so he has to go somewhere new to get work done. Rinse and repeat.

He’s already gone through two study spaces in the main school library, a study nook in the pharmacy building, and his room. Now, he’s even bored of studying at the dining table.

There’s a shuffling sound across from him, and Sungho lifts his head up to see Jaehyun shift his glance to him, one ear perked up.

“What's wrong?”

He’s removed his headphones, letting them rest on his neck, and his pencil lies on top of his open notebook, where diagrams of liposomes and nanoparticles are scrawled across the page.

Sungho sighs, sitting back up properly. “Just can’t focus. It would help to go somewhere new, but I have no idea where.” He could try to find another spot in the library, but even the mere thought of going back there again saps him of any motivation.

Jaehyun leans back in his chair, drumming his fingers on the table absentmindedly. Sungho watches as he twists his lips in thought before perking up, eyes widening.

“Do you want to try a cafe? I know a good one for working if you don't mind a fifteen minute walk.”

Sungho tries to do a quick mental calculation of how much work he could get done in those thirty minutes spent walking before deciding that he won’t get any work done at all if he doesn't leave the apartment.

In the end, it's not a difficult decision.

“I can be ready to go in ten.”

Jaehyun’s face freezes in surprise for a second, as if he hadn't expected Sungho to say yes, before it relaxes into an excited smile. “It’ll be good, I promise.”

— ✦ —

They amble through the streets of Mapo, walking along the subway line before turning into a side street lined with brick buildings. The fresh air helps clear his mind, and though Sungho can’t shake the feeling of being a cat taken out for a walk, he feels better than he has in days by the time that they reach the cafe.

Inside, the cafe looks like a brutalist art studio, all grey furniture with wooden accents. There are a number of people scattered around the cafe, many of whom also look to be college students. He and Jaehyun set their bags down at adjacent tables after they order.

It doesn't take long for their drinks to come out, and Sungho carries them back to their tables, setting the glasses down lightly. After that, they get to work.

He starts by reviewing his notes from his most recent genetics class, which had been about regulatory RNA. His professor had been vague about whether or not the content will be on their final exam, so he has no choice but to learn it. Then, he finishes up a lab report before turning to his pathology review packet.

He’s managed to get through a good chunk of it by the time that he reaches for his glass and realizes that a pool of melted ice is all that’s left in it. When he checks his watch, he realizes that it’s almost dinnertime, and a quick scan around the cafe reveals that most of the tables are empty.

Next to him, Jaehyun is busy typing, frowning as he stares at a code terminal. The overhead light glints off of his earrings, which are half-concealed by the hoodie pulled over his head.

As if he senses Sungho’s eyes on him, Jaehyun looks over. Now, Sungho can see that his hair is messy, sticking out from under his hood as if he's been tugging at it, and his lips are bitten red.

“I think that this computer science project is going to be the end of me,” he declares solemnly, and Sungho purses his lips as he tries not to snort at his dramatics.

“Do you want to go home and have dinner?” he whispers instead, and Jaehyun lights up at his words, saving his work and closing his laptop with little hesitation.

“Should we order something?” Jaehyun asks, and Sungho nods as he packs his bag, slinging it over his shoulder once it's full. Today's just a day where he has neither the time nor will to cook.

They return the glasses to the dish bin before ducking out of the cafe. The streets are packed with people heading home from work, and he tries to ignore how closely Jaehyun is sticking to his side as they navigate around bus lines and bustling crosswalks.

Unfortunately, he's so busy trying to ignore that fact that he nearly walks straight into a streetlight. Right as his brain processes what's happening and he manages to think, Holy fuck, an arm wraps around his shoulders and pulls him away.

Sungho blinks as he walks past the streetlight instead of into it, his shock making him stumble for a second before he regains his balance. Then, as he registers the situation, he turns to look at Jaehyun, who’s already staring at him.

“Hey, are you alright?” His eyes are heavy with concern as they flit between Sungho and the busy street ahead of them, the arm flung over Sungho’s shoulders continuing to guide him.

Sungho nods, a hand coming up to rub at his eyes. “Yeah, just distracted, I guess. Thanks for the save.”

The ends of Jaehyun’s mouth lift in a grin as he brings his hand up to run his fingers through Sungho’s hair. “What's going on in this pretty head of yours that's got you all distracted?”

You, he wants to say, but he can't. Instead, he scrambles for something to say, trying to ignore the soothing sensation of Jaehyun’s fingertips on his scalp and ears. “What, is my head too big to be considered a pretty little head?”

Because that’s a totally normal thing to say.

Luckily, Jaehyun just laughs, draping his arm over Sungho’s shoulders again. “I thought the little part would be demeaning. Plus, you are pretty, Sungho.”

He says it so easily that Sungho can’t think of a single way to respond and seem unaffected.

“So, what's up with your compsci project?” he asks, clumsily changing the topic, and Jaehyun snorts but doesn't call him out on it otherwise.

“It’s rough. I don’t know why, but coding just doesn’t seem to stick in my head.”

Sungho hums in understanding. He’d tried to learn coding for a very brief period in time in high school before he’d given up. Though he’d liked the idea of being able to code, of creating something with a series of streamlined words, he hadn’t enjoyed the reality of staring at a few lines of code and trying to figure out what minute error was preventing it from running properly. Maybe Python just hadn’t been for him, and maybe he hadn’t even tried learning it for long enough to dislike it, but he has no desire to try again.

“You have a good idea of what you want the project to look like, right?”

Jaehyun nods, letting out a slow exhale. “Thankfully, but it's almost more frustrating to have a goal and not know how to reach it. I added every TA hour between now and the due date to my calendar, though, so we’ll see.”

“You’ll get it soon, I’m sure,” he replies, not sure what else to say. He’s never been the best at comforting people, unable to tiptoe around what he wants to say and risk it getting lost in translation. He’d rather just say what he means, even if it doesn’t sound all that helpful.

Thankfully, his words seem to land well, if the slight softening of Jaehyun’s eyes is any indication. His ears relax as well, floppy now when they had been pricked up before.

“I appreciate it,” Jaehyun murmurs, voice so low that Sungho can barely hear it above the sound of the crowd. There’s a pause as they turn a corner, and then: “Enough about my assignment, though. What do you want for dinner?”

They spend the rest of the walk home debating what to order, because Jaehyun keeps listing too many dishes and refuses to listen to Sungho’s responses that it’ll be impossible for them to finish everything in a single meal. (In the end, they have to put half a serving of sweet and sour pork, multiple shrimp rolls, and a spare dumpling in a tupperware container.)

— ✦ —

“Come on, spit it out.”

Sungho looks up at Sanghyeok, still in a half-squat position with the hex bar in his hands. He carefully drops it on the ground and straightens back up.

“What are you talking about?”

Sanghyeok just raises an eyebrow at him, his expression far too poised for someone who’s jump roping.

It’s not often that the two of them work out together, mostly because they focus on different things when they go to the gym, but both of them have been going stir-crazy from studying, so they’ve put together a bit of a slapdash full-body routine. He’s kind of regretting how quickly they’d created the routine now that he’s experienced doing lat pulldowns and dumbbell rows back to back, but at least he has someone to commiserate with.

“You look like you’ve been wanting to ask me something the entire time that we’ve been here.”

Sungho sighs, stepping out of the hex bar and picking up a jump rope. The truth is, he’s been trying to figure out whether or not he should ask Sanghyeok if he has any insights on Jaehyun. More specifically, he wants to ask about Jaehyun’s love life, but that seems like it would be overstepping.

He focuses on counting his jumps under his breath, and Sanghyeok doesn't press him, measured exhales the only sound coming from his direction.

Sungho waits until both of them have finished their set to speak again.

“Be honest: do you think it's worth it to have a talk with Jaehyun while living with him?”

Sanghyeok doesn't respond right away, taking a swig from his water bottle instead, and Sungho appreciates the fact that he's actually thinking it through instead of placating him right away with empty words. That thoughtfulness is why he wants to hear from Sanghyeok.

“What do you think are the possible outcomes if you talk to him?”

He thinks it through as he puts the jump ropes away and Sanghyeok slides the weight plates off of each end of the hex bar. Once they're done cleaning up, they head to the treadmills. The gym is empty enough that they manage to snag two next to each other, and Sungho sets his to a fast walking pace, upping the incline instead of the speed.

“The first scenario is the good scenario, where Jaehyun is also interested in me, and… I haven't thought too far ahead, but that's what I’d like to happen.”

Next to him, Sanghyeok hums to indicate his attention, and so Sungho keeps going.

“Or he doesn't like me in any romantic sort of way, and then he feels really uncomfortable living with me and hates me and moves out before the lease is over and I never see him again.”

He knows that he’s being dramatic, but it feels kind of nice to let all of his thoughts spill out instead of just turning them over in his head.

The treadmill beeps as Sanghyeok turns down the speed, reaching for his water bottle. “Well, what's stopping you from waiting until the lease is almost over?” he asks, using his thumb to flick a spare water droplet from his lips.

“I mean, he might want to re-sign the lease and live together next year, which would lead to the same issue. But really, I’m just scared that I’ll lose my chance and that he’ll start dating someone else before I even get to say anything.”

For a few moments, neither of them say anything, listening instead to the whirr of the air conditioning and metallic clangs of barbells hitting squat racks. Then, Sanghyeok changes the speed of his treadmill again, until it’s fast enough for an easy jog.

“I think that you should have some more faith in Jaehyun.”

Sungho blinks at him, just barely managing to avoid stumbling and falling off of his own treadmill. (That would actually be enough to keep him from ever stepping foot in a gym again.) “What do you mean?”

Sanghyeok lets out a slow breath. “You know that Jaehyun’s not the type of person who would just leave if he doesn’t return your feelings. He’s also not someone who could ever truly hate another person. You probably don’t want to hear this, but I think that your worst case scenario is exaggerated a lot, and that’s because expecting it to happen is the easy way out.”

It’s almost comedic, the way that Sanghyeok says all of this without breaking stride or sounding out of breath, while Sungho feels like he's been punched in the gut.

There are times when Sungho wonders why he ever let someone get to know him as well as Sanghyeok does. This is one of them.

Because Sanghyeok is right: Sungho is scared.

— ✦ —

Admitting that he’s scared was a big step for him.

That's how he's rationalizing the fact that he hasn’t done anything with that knowledge. He needs some time to process it. Plus, it would be rude to distract Jaehyun from his finals. Right.

Anyways, he has his own finals to study for too.

Sungho looks down at his pharmacology notes and sighs, leaning back in his desk chair and stretching his arms out. Ever since he talked to Sanghyeok at the gym, he hasn't been able to focus properly on his work, but he has no choice but to try anyway.

He’s nearly done with learning all of the content that he needs to know for the exam, but he still can't recall information from the final unit as easily as the other ones.

He lifts his mug, only to find that it's empty, and sighs again. Maybe it’d be good for him to take a break and brew a cup of tea.

There's the sound of keyboard keys clacking when he ambles into the living room, and he quickly traces its source to Jaehyun, who’s sitting at the dining table with his laptop.

Jaehyun looks up when Sungho plugs in their kettle, taking his headphones off. His hair is sticking out in every direction, and he looks absolutely miserable. “I think that they should remove computer science from the BME requirements,” he whines, throwing himself down onto the table. His ears fold over too, flopping onto the sides of his head.

“You're almost done with your project, though, right?” Sungho responds absently, standing on his tiptoes to look through the tea boxes in their cupboard.

When he turns back around, tea bag in hand, Jaehyun is nodding, but his expression is weary. “I thought I was, but I’m getting in error message in one of the lines and I have no idea why.”

Their kettle is an slow, old thing, meaning that there's still a few minutes before it's at the right temperature. That's the only reason why Sungho makes his way over to Jaehyun, standing over his shoulder. “Can I take a look?”

“Yeah, of course,” Jaehyun replies, tilting the screen back so that Sungho can see better.

He leans in, trying to ignore the smell of sandalwood wafting off of Jaehyun as he gets closer, and takes a look at the code. It's easy to find the line with the error symbol next to it, and he squints, suddenly feeling very underqualified to check someone else’s code.

It’s a large if-then loop, but as far as Sungho can tell, it's not missing any clauses or parentheses. He looks a little closer, and then—

By some miracle, he sees it.

“I think you have a typo.”

Jaehyun makes some incredulous sound in the back of his throat, craning his neck forward to stare at the screen. “Where?”

Sungho points. He can spot the exact moment when Jaehyun sees the mispelled word, because all of the air deflates out of him and he slumps in his chair. His mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out.

Their kettle dings, and Sungho straightens again, turning around to go fill his mug. He sets the tea bag in it, and then he makes to go back to his room.

“Sungho.”

Jaehyun seems to have found his voice again, and Sungho turns at the sound of his name, returning to where he was next to Jaehyun and setting his mug down on the table.

“Thank you so much,” Jaehyun says, reaching for one of Sungho’s hands. “This was driving me crazy.”

He just laughs, trying to keep his expression normal while Jaehyun runs his thumb over the ridges of his knuckles. “No problem.”

“Sungho,” Jaehyun says again, and nothing could have prepared him for the next words that that come out of Jaehyun’s mouth: “I could literally kiss you right now.”

In an instant, he makes eye contact with Jaehyun. Jaehyun’s gaze is steady, and his tone had been serious, without a single hint of its usually levity, but Sungho can't afford to misread the situation.

“What, because I know how to read English?” he jokes, but it doesn't land right, and he regrets it instantly.

Jaehyun groans, the sound verging on a growl, and stands so that they're facing each other straight on. His eyes are shiny and earnest. “No, because you're you. A little silly, a little logical, a little too obsessed with playing FIFA. Because I like you.”

The last sentence is just a whisper, barely louder than an exhale, but it rings in Sungho’s ears.

Because I like you.

Holy shit. Sungho's mind is simultaneously racing and dead silent.

“Both of us are so stupid.” That's all he manages to get out before bringing his free hand up to the back of Jaehyun’s neck and leaning in.

It's uncoordinated, and he can feel Jaehyun’s teeth because of how hard he’s smiling, but that's alright.

— ✦ —

Summer is taking a train home to spend a week with his parents. He lazes around, reading a book and eating his mom’s cooking.

It’s milky bowls of bone broth soup topped with a thick layer of sliced scallions, jewel-like chunks of marinated potatoes, and gleaming slices of red watermelon.

Summer is also returning to Seoul and finding a boy waiting for him when he punches in the apartment code and opens the door. Jaehyun’s tail wags as he reaches for Sungho, pulling him into a hug that smells like soft amber and laundry detergent.

“Missed you,” Jaehyun declares with a blinding smile, pressing his lips to the tip of Sungho’s nose.

If there's a flush spreading across his face, he’s blaming it on the summer heat, and nothing else.