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I. First Impressions
It started, as most unexpected things did at Hogwarts, with McGonagall’s voice echoing across the Great Hall.
“Attention students. We have some guests arriving, please make sure to make them feel welcome.”
Heeseung didn’t pay much attention after that. He was halfway through a pumpkin pasty and arguing with Jake about the ethics of using a cushioning charm in Quidditch, until the doors creaked open.
A small group of Beauxbatons students entered with an otherworldly grace he had never seen before. Their uniforms were light blue and silver-trimmed, falling perfectly against their bodies like enchanted fabric. Two students lead the group, one with a bright, almost mischievous smile, and the other...
Heeseung paused mid-bite.
The boy had dark hair and didn’t smile. He didn’t look nervous, either. He looked composed. Like still water, undisturbed even under a thousand gazes. There was something magnetic about him. Refined.
Jake, beside him, inhaled sharply.
Heeseung turned his head just enough to catch the stunned expression on his best friend’s face.
“...What?”
Jake’s eyes didn’t leave the boy. “I think I’m in love.”
Heeseung snorted. “You don't even know his name yet.”
McGonagall cleared her throat. “Please welcome our Beauxbaton exchange students. Their grade leaders are: Park Jongseong, and Kim Sunoo.”
Jake leaned toward Heeseung, barely whispering, “ Jongseong. Even his name is beautiful.”
Heeseung glanced at him, then back at Jongseong, who gave a perfectly executed nod to the room.
Heeseung felt something subtle shift in the air.
Jake was about to fall hard.
And Heeseung? He’s afraid he has just been drafted as lead wingman in a romance that isn't even his.
II. The Spark
Jake didn’t talk about it again until they were in the common room that night, playing wizard chess badly and trying not to draw attention from the 5th-years arguing over Potions homework.
“So,” Jake began casually, which meant he was overthinking, “do you think he noticed me?”
Heeseung raised a brow. “Jongseong?”
“Obviously.”
“You were seated six rows behind him.”
“But I—” Jake fidgeted with a bishop. “I smiled.”
“You smiled at the back of his head .”
“Do you think he could feel it?”
Heeseung stared. “You’ve gone mad.”
But he couldn’t deny it; Jake looked genuinely affected. There was a weight to his words, a dreamy haze in his eyes that Heeseung had only ever seen when Jake talked about sunny days on the Quidditch pitch or sugar-dusted bakery stalls during Hogsmeade weekends.
Jongseong had settled somewhere in Jake’s chest already, and Heeseung could tell it wasn’t going to be temporary.
Heeseung sighed, already mentally revising his term schedule. “Okay. You’re serious.”
Jake blinked. “What?”
“You’re not just crushing. You’re doing the thing .”
“What thing?”
“The thing where you get quiet and fidgety and accidentally stare too long at someone and then write poems in your planner margins.”
Jake scowled. “That was one time. And she had a very poetic aura .”
Heeseung smirked. “You’re gonna need help.”
Jake brightened. “You’ll be my wingman?”
“Yes,” Heeseung said dryly. “But if this ends in disaster, I reserve the right to say ‘I told you so.’”
"Deal!"
III. The Gentle Science of Proximity
Getting Jake physically close to Jongseong turned out to be harder than expected. Jongseong was sorted into Slytherin. Most of Jake and Heeseung’s classes were with Hufflepuffs. Not only did they have differing schedules, but Jongseong was surprisingly quiet, considering the amount of attention he seemed to draw from the general public.
He wasn't unfriendly; he was just controlled. He didn't seem to go out of his way to talk with anyone other than his fellow transfer, Sunoo.
Jongseong's personality seemed to directly contradict Jake's. Jake was a warm breeze. A tangle mop of messy hair and wide smiles. Heeseung wondered if Jongseong would even notice someone like Jake in the way Jake noticed him.
To Heeseung's luck, he did.
It started in Potions.
Heeseung may have whispered to Slughorn about Jake and Jongseong being “great cross-cultural pairing candidates.” The next thing they knew, Jake was assigned as Jongseong's partner in place of Sunoo. Which Sunoo made sure to let Jake know he wasn't happy about.
Heeseung took the seat behind them, pretending to care about his own work, while his eyes flicked up every time Jake opened his mouth.
At first, Jake stammered. He complimented Jongseong's handwriting, then panicked and compared it to “a very sophisticated squid.” Heeseung had to physically bite his tongue to avoid groaning out loud.
But Jongseong didn’t recoil. He just blinked slowly and said, “That’s new.”
And then he giggled. Small and soft. But real.
Heeseung’s eyebrows shot up.
Jake visibly straightened, the corners of his mouth lifting just enough to make Heeseung hope he wouldn't combust on the spot.
Alright , Heeseung thought. That’s progress.
IV. Between You, Me, and the Moon
By late October, things had changed.
Jake and Jongseong had developed something like... a rhythm. They weren’t close, not yet. But they shared casual greetings now. Talked between classes. Jongseong would wait for Jake in the courtyard if they had a shared lesson. Jake would save him a muffin at breakfast after noticing that Jongseong was not a morning person.
Heeseung watched from afar, invisible and ever-present.
He told himself he wasn’t jealous.
Not because he wanted Jongseong for himself, he didn’t.
But there was something wistful about watching his best friend fall. About seeing Jake tiptoe into new feelings, clutching each moment like a candle in the wind.
It made Heeseung remember what it was like to believe in things with your whole heart.
And Jake? Jake believed.
“Do you think he likes me?” Jake asked one night while they were on the Astronomy Tower roof, finishing the last of their starcharts.
Heeseung glanced at him, catching the nervous twitch in his foot. “He doesn’t dislike you.”
Jake exhaled.
“Jongseong's hard to read,” Heeseung added. “But he softens around you. I can see it.”
Jake looked at him, hopeful. “Really?”
Heeseung smiled. “Really.”
And Jake leaned back, gazing at the stars with a quiet sort of wonder.
He’s all in, Heeseung thought. Please let this go well.
V. The Spiral
When the next Hogsmeade weekend was announced, Jake lost sleep over it.
Heeseung found him pacing the dorm at 2 a.m., mumbling to himself.
“I’ll ask him tomorrow. No—after lunch. Wait, no, what if he says no? Merlin, what if Sunoo already asked him to go?”
“Jake,” Heeseung groaned, voice muffled under a pillow, “go to bed or I’ll hex you into a teapot.”
Jake didn’t stop. “I should do it casually. Like, super casual. Like—‘oh, I’m going too, maybe I’ll see you there, haha, oh you wanna walk together? Cool cool cool—’”
“You sound like a crup on fire.”
Jake paused. “Too much?”
“Ten levels too much.”
“Then what do I say?” Jake whined and face planted into his bed. It looked like he was trying to suffocate himself.
Heeseung sighed and sat up. “Just ask if he wants to go with you. No act. No fake casual. He’ll probably appreciate you being straightforward.”
Jake turned over and blinked at him. “What if he says no?”
“Then you have your answer. But you’ll be braver than half the school.”
And that, finally, got Jake to stop spiraling. For now.
...
The next day, Heeseung trailed behind Jake under the pretense of heading to the Owlery. Jongseong was in the corridor near the staircases, waiting for Sunoo and Jungwon.
Jake approached like he was on his way to the gallows.
“Hey,” he said.
Jongseong turned. “Hey.”
Jake hesitated. Then, just like Heeseung coached, “Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?”
Jay blinked. His expression didn’t change.
Heeseung’s heart thumped painfully in his chest.
Jake fumbled. “I mean, like together. Not... just there. But... you and me. If you want.”
Jay tilted his head slightly.
Then: “Sure.”
Just that. Sure.
And Jake lit up like Christmas came early.
Heeseung turned away, giving them privacy, and let himself smile.
He did it.
VI. Hogsmeade
Hogsmeade was drenched in late-autumn charm. Warm colored leaves draped over the roofs of each shop. The sky was pale and soft, with just a hint of chill in the air. Jake and Jongseong walked side by side through the cobbled streets, sharing a bag of candied almonds and bickering about the best flavor of butterbeer.
Heeseung kept his distance, ducking in and out of shops with Sunghoon and Niki.
But he watched.
He watched the way Jongseong let himself smile a little bigger. The way Jake offered his gloves without asking. The way their elbows brushed as they walked.
There was a quiet magic forming between them.
And when it began to snow, a gentle, swirling fall of flurries, Jay stopped, tilted his head up, and laughed.
Jake looked at him like he was witnessing a miracle.
Heeseung had to look away before he got too emotional.
VII. The Unspoken
Time moved differently in winter.
The castle felt cozier. More alive.
Jake and Jongseong weren’t officially “together,” but by December, the school knew.
Even without PDA. Even without declarations.
There was something unmistakable about the way Jake leaned toward him during study sessions. The way Jongseong rested his chin in his palm while watching Jake retell a story for the third time. The way they existed near each other like planets caught in a shared orbit.
Heeseung noticed it all.
He noticed the tension behind Jake’s eyes when Jongseong was quiet for too long. The relief in his laugh when Jongseong answered with something dry and clever. No longer scared of rubbing someone the wrong way. More comfortable sharing his voice with someone other than Sunoo.
Heeseung noticed the way Jongseong looked at Jake when he thought no one else was watching.
Like Jake was the light he hadn’t expected.
VIII. Firelight
It happened in the common room one night after curfew.
Jongseong had been invited over by Jake and somehow ended up staying late. Jake and Heeseung were sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace. Jay was curled into the corner of the couch behind them, thumbing through a Muggle mystery novel of Jake's.
The fire cast gold shadows over the room. Everything felt hushed and full of meaning.
Jake leaned toward Heeseung.
“Should I kiss him?” he whispered.
Heeseung blinked. “Now?”
“I think I should.”
Heeseung turned, took in the soft expression on Jay’s face. The way his eyes flicked up from the page to land on Jake, and he said, “Yes.”
So Jake moved, slow and unsure.
Heeseung held his breath.
And when their lips met, soft and uncertain, Heeseung felt something release in his chest.
Jongseong kissed him back. Gently. Intentionally.
When they pulled away, Jongseong whispered something Heeseung couldn’t hear, but Jake smiled.
Heeseung looked away.
And smiled too.
IX. Together
Jake still tripped over his own shoelaces trying to impress Jongseong. Jongseong still acted aloof in class and stole Jake’s scarf when he was cold.
They were easy.
Sometimes Heeseung found himself trailing behind them through the halls, watching the way they moved in sync, and he wondered if maybe love could really look like this. This quiet , steady and slow-burning event.
Sometimes Jake would glance back, grin at him, and say, “You’re walking like a third wheel.”
Heeseung would flip him off and then walk between them just to be annoying.
But he never really felt left out.
Because somewhere in the folds of this friendship, in the unspoken closeness, he knew.
He’d been there at their first glance. Their first conversation. Their first stumble, and their first kiss.
And that meant something.
X. The Farewell Feast
When Jongseong's departure approached, Jake grew quiet.
They had been avoiding talking about the time limit they had, just a year, but now the months had vanished, and the end loomed like a thundercloud.
The Great Hall buzzed with chatter and celebration.
Heeseung sat beside Jake, watching him push peas around his plate.
“He’s still here,” Heeseung murmured.
Jake looked up.
“You’ve got time,” Heeseung added.
Jake nodded. Swallowed. “I just... I don’t want to say goodbye.”
“You’re not.”
Jake turned to him, brows pinched.
Heeseung offered a small smile. “You’re saying ‘see you soon.’ You two are too stubborn for anything else.”
And Jake laughed, soft and grateful.
Across the hall, Jongseong caught his eye.
And smiled.
Later, Heeseung found them in the Astronomy Tower, watching the stars.
“I’ll visit,” Jongseong said softly.
Jake leaned his head on his shoulder. “I know.”
Heeseung lingered at the edge of the stairs, watching.
Sunoo joined him.
“They’ll be okay,” he said.
Heeseung nodded. “I know.”
He glanced at Sunoo.
“Think you’ll be back next year?”
Sunoo smiled. “Depends.”
“On?”
“Whether Niki figures out I’ve been flirting with him since October.”
Heeseung blinked. “Wait—what?”
Sunoo walked off, smirking.
Heeseung sighed.
He was not ready to sit through another slow-burning romance that wasn't even his .