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“Hyung will show you how it’s done!” Suho warmed up his wrists, readjusting the wristbands on each.
They were all sitting on the floor around Juntae’s coffee table, in their pajamas after having dinner and a few drinks. The jenga tower at the center already looked unstable after one round, and Humin, who was sitting across from him, kept blowing on it so it would topple over while Suho took his sweet time deciding which one to pull. Hyuntak pressed his fingers against hit temple to push Humin’s head so he would stop interfering, to which the other replied with an elbow to his stomach.
“Five,” Juntae began the countdown.
“Okay, okay!” Suho said, raising his hands in surrender.
He lightly tapped one of the pieces and it didn’t budge.
“You should have picked the one above it,” Sieun stated, “it has less weighing on it than this one.”
“Thank you Professor but he can’t change now, he touched it!” Humin interjected, using one arm to wrestle with Hyuntak who wanted to get back at him for hitting him. “Ready to get the wrist slap of the century, my boy?”
Sieun watched closely from beside him as Suho tried to push it out, but each tap made the tower sway lightly instead of moving the piece. Once he could get a hold of it, he froze, knowing full well the tower was about to crumble.
“Do it all at once,” Juntae advised, stopping Sieun with a light tap on his thigh and a tiny shake of the head when he was about to advise him again.
Suho listened, and when he pulled the piece the whole tower fell in his hands despite his best attempt to catch the rest of the pieces. Everyone erupted in laughter, Humin sticking his tongue out playfully at him and Juntae clapping happily. Sieun looked at Suho’s dejected expression, a small smile rising to his lips.
Hyuntak theatrically pulled up the sleeves of his imaginary shirt -he was wearing an old basketball jersey- loading up his two fingers like a gun. Humin mirrored his actions, flicking his nose with his thumb to look intimidating under Suho’s worried gaze as he laughed nervously.
“Guys, a wrist slap is boring, come on. How about the forehead? I’ll take forehead,” Suho tried to negotiate, slowly backing up as the two of them started closing in on him.
Sieun saw Suho’s eyes shaking, jumping from Humin to Hyuntak to his wrists that were both protected by the dark blue wristbands he never seemed to take off anymore. Why was he trying so hard to divert the attention from there? The odd marks on Suho’s skin he had seen days ago were still vivid in his mind, and he felt like now was the occasion to finally see. There was no way Suho could make his way out of that one.
“We all did it on the wrist before,” Sieun added flatly.
“You’re supposed to be on my side!” Suho complained, turning to him with the face of a man who had been through the greatest betrayal.
“Baku’s forehead flick will knock you out, are you sure you want that?” Hyuntak asked, his eyes stuck on Humin’s hand that had gotten a hold of Suho’s shoulder to stop him from slipping away. “Juntae, come hold him over here.”
Juntae rushed over and carefully got a hold of Suho’s left arm, while Hyuntak settled on his right arm and Humin got in position in front of Suho. Suho looked at Sieun with pleading eyes, and was met with a shrug as he stared intently. They couldn’t do this, because they would pull on his wristbands, and they would see the scar, and they would figure everything out. And as much as Suho liked his friends, this couldn’t happen. If begging didn’t work, he could always attack Humin’s competitive spirit and provoke him. Surely, that would work.
“I’m sure your forehead flick isn’t even that good, you’re all talk. That’s why you want to do it on the wrist, isn’t it?”
“What? I’ll show you if I’m all talk!”
Sieun sighed. Suho really did find a way to avoid it, of course he did. He was Suho after all, always so resourceful.
Suho squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for impact, and Humin’s finger hit his forehead at full speed. He might have advanced healing, he still felt that completely. Humin’s strength sometimes made him wonder if he, too, wasn’t some sort of mutant or enhanced human being. There was no way a regular kid could be this strong.
He felt Hyuntak and Juntae’s hold on him relax and immediately crawled to Sieun’s side with a pained expression, pulling out the kicked puppy face to try and scratch his heart just a tiny bit.
“Your forehead is red, it’s probably going to leave a mark,” he said as he got a closer look, “you should have just agreed for the arm, what if you get a scar on your face?”
“I’ll still be handsome in your eyes, right?” Suho asked with a teasing smile.
He had a slight blush on his cheeks, his eyes looking up at Sieun in a way he had seen Suho look at cats he saw outside of their school. It bothered Sieun, because the stupid feeling was back, and he didn’t know what to do about it except rolling his eyes at him.
The others displayed a range of reactions, from Humin who pretended to retch, to Juntae who giggled and finally Hyuntak who simply showed the most disgusted grimace his face could produce.
Sieun pushed Suho away before he got any closer, feeling unreasonably annoyed by his close proximity. “Go drink some water.”
Suho showed him a salute and got up to pour himself a glass of water.
“What do we do now?” Humin asked, stretching his arms.
“How about we play truth or dare?” Juntae offered, excitedly tapping on Hyuntak’s knee.
With his onesie, he looked like a cute little hamster, an image that fit him perfectly.
Hyuntak looked at him with a fond smile and tapped his cheek. “Sure, let’s get an empty bottle.”
Sieun watched with curiosity as they sat in a semicircle and Humin reached out to pick up an empty soju bottle that rested next to the table. Suho handed him a glass of water and Sieun thanked him with a nod, both of them watching the scene.
Humin waved at them. “What are you two doing? Come sit over here!”
“How do we play?” Sieun asked earnestly.
“Ah right.” He waved at him to come closer and attempted to bring an arm around Sieun's shoulder which he brushed off immediately. “It's simple, We sit in a circle and turn a bottle. Whoever it points to when it stops has to choose between truth or dare. For truth we ask him a question and he has to reply truthfully. For dare he has to do what he’s told. If he doesn’t want to reply or do it he has to take a shot instead.”
Sieun and Suho nodded simultaneously, Suho settling down next to him, their knees brushing together slightly.
Hyuntak flipped the bottle first, and Sieun felt anticipation build up within him as he watched it turn and turn. Maybe this time he could get the answer to questions Suho always avoided, if he was lucky.
It stopped spinning and pointed straight at Hyuntak.
“Just my luck,” he groaned.
“Truth or dare?”
“Let’s start slow. Truth.”
Juntae clapped. “I have a question! Is it true that you and Baku-”
“Dare! I pick dare actually!” Hyuntak interrupted him, his eyes doubling in size the second he heard Juntae mention Humin’s name.
“Nuh-uh,” Suho sang, “you can’t switch once you pick. You didn’t even hear the whole question, coward.”
Humin shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, preparing himself for whatever was coming.
“Is it true…” Juntae began, cutting his sentence off to add suspense, smiling as Hyuntak complained. “That you and Baku…”
“Say it quickly!”
“Is it true that you kissed? On the mouth? Like Sieun said?”
Suho turned to Sieun, bewildered, eyes demanding an explanation. “I promised not to say anything to anyone,” Sieun said quietly.
“And I’m just anyone?” Suho scoffed. Sieun looked confused, and Suho felt his heart melt again. He patted Sieun’s shoulder gently, unable to squeeze him as tight as he wanted because he might suffocate him. “Look, Sieun-ah, even if you promise not to say anything, your best friend doesn’t count.”
Sieun hummed, and they turned their attention back to the others who were unusually quiet, especially Humin, the human loudspeaker.
Sieun could see Hyuntak’s eyes looking for permission, and Humin nodded slightly.
“Yes.”
Juntae jumped up, and Suho clapped slowly.
“I KNEW IT!” Juntae chanted, excitedly tapping his feet because he couldn’t contain his excitement at the news.
“Told you,” Suho said knowingly, nudging Sieun with his shoulder.
Sieun looked at him, not saying a word, simply wondering what set them apart. Because Suho and Sieun were best friends, and Hyuntak and Humin were best friends. But Hyuntak and Humin kissed, they slept tangled together when no one was around to see. For Sieun, he was already treating Suho differently, and he was already receiving a lot of affection. But did Suho expect more? Sometimes, in the small fleeting moments, it seems like he can see a flicker of something in Suho's eyes, immediately restrained. Sieun himself felt attracted to Suho like a magnet, but he didn't know what to do about it. So he just let him hover around him, let him touch his cheek and hold his wrist and ruffle his hair. Maybe one day Sieun will figure it out, but he needed Suho to be honest with him first.
Humin quickly turned the bottle again to change the subject, cheering when it landed on Suho.
“Dare. I’m a man of action.”
“I have one!”
“Me! Me!”
Juntae and Hyuntak’s voices overlapped as they raised their hands and pointed at themselves to offer the dare.
Sieun ignored them and just threw his question. “I dare you to show your wrist.”
Despite the others' complaints, Suho’s gaze wavered. He was cornered, with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The look in Sieun’s eyes made him feel trapped. He tried to brush it off with a smile, nervously fidgeting with his wristband.
“They’re right, it’s boring. Sieun-ah, you got one chance to make me do whatever you want, use it better.”
“You already always do what I ask you to, though?” Sieun replied matter-of-factly, and Suho had no response.
It was true, Sieun just had to say the word, and Suho would come running. Most of the time, he didn’t even have to ask, Suho was already giving him what he needed. Maybe he should give in, Sieun’s eyes were too pretty to resist. Suho wanted to believe it wouldn’t change anything, but the risk was too big. And there was an audience. If he were to tell Sieun, he wanted it to be just the two of them. There was too much weighing in the balance for him to throw this information out this way.
“Later,” Suho conceded weakly, biting the inside of his cheek. “Ask anything else, I’ll do it right now. I promise I’ll show you later and I’ll explain.” He tried to get a hold of Sieun's hand but he retrieved it before he could.
“Does Seongje know?”
Suho felt like he had just gotten slapped in the face, unable to respond. His silence gave Sieun all the answers he needed. He couldn't do anything but watch as Sieun sighed, his shoulders dropping along with his gaze.
“I'm not playing anymore. I'm hungry, you guys keep going.”
It felt out of character for Sieun, who usually never ate unless he absolutely had to, or unless Suho or Humin reprimanded him until he did.
“What were you guys whispering about?” Humin asked.
“Nothing,” Suho mumbled.
He watched him walk away with small, heavy steps, his figured drowning in his oversized tshirt and his sweatpants. He couldn't do anything but watch… gosh, why couldn't he simply stop thinking and worrying and instead just tell him everything?