Chapter Text
“Hey, Euijoo-ya,” Yuma shouts, trying to catch up with him to talk, so Euijoo stops and frowns, not knowing what he did today, so this guy wants to talk to him.
Like, Yuma is one of those popular students, who always has attention from everyone. Their little group, which consists of him and the other three guys- Euijoo named this group ‘fuckboys’ in his head, because they really look like ones. He has never been close to them, obviously, because he's just a nerdy boy, who loves books and art.
No, like… Really. Euijoo loves studying, he loves being surrounded by books. He loves a comfortable silence and calmness. So he doesn't really want to stop right now and talk with Yuma, but even more, he doesn't want to be laughed at. Even though no one has ever bullied him. He's just scared of it.
“Woah, Euijoo, you're really fast,” Yuma laughs shortly, trying to catch his breath. “Hoo- Sorry for bothering,” he says blinking rapidly. Euijoo smiles shyly, because it seems like Yuma isn't a runner at all. “I wanted to ask… Do you mind being invited to our party? Like, I mean it. We just want to gather together at Jungmo’s place, so… What do you think?” He asks, pursing his lips and waits for the answer.
Euijoo is shocked. He bites the inside of his cheek, trying to focus on the question. Gosh, is this happening for real now? Someone wants Euijoo to be a part of a… Party? That sounds like nonsense, but Euijoo can't even say no to Yuma, who seems to be excited.
“Wow… I mean… Why not? But when and where?” He lets out a nervous laugh, fixing his glasses.
Yuma smiles widely, nodding, “Oh, yeah, awesome! You're in our group chat for science projects, right?” Euijoo purses his lips and nods. “That means I have your contacts, so I'll tell you later, when we will resolve the question with the date, okay?”
Euijoo nods again, “Okay, yeah.”
Yuma says goodbye and turns around to shout someone else's name, so Euijoo can take a deep breath now.
He was nervous. Well, he's now, too.
All he can think about while walking back to the dorm is a party. Euijoo was thinking about pushing his own boundaries and trying to do something different from his comfort routine. It was yesterday, when he was thinking about it.
A little too quickly his wants become real.
“Oh, you're earlier today!” Euijoo's roommate, Taki, says, looking up from his phone. “Didn't you say about the library and finding those books for the history project?”
Euijoo stops right when his bag falls to the floor. Fuck. He was so deep in his thoughts he forgot about his plans. That sucks.
“Taki, can you believe that I forgot?” Euijoo says with a smile, sighing. No, he's not going to the library. He's hungry and tired, he deserves a day off.
“No, I can't. Something happened?” Taki doesn't know how right he is.
Euijoo purses his lips, sits on his bed and looks at him. “I got invited to a party,” he says under his breath. “A party, can you believe it? That was the strangest thing this week. Well, after receiving that lovely postcard with hearts and stuff.”
Taki gasps and puts his phone to the side, asking with only his gaze.
Euijoo sighs, “Yuma said they want a party with many people, so they are inviting everyone they want to,” he looks down, still trying to digest this information.
“Not me, though,” Taki shrugs with a smile on his face. “But that's crazy, man. Yuma is… He's a part of fuckboys, right?”
Euijoo giggles, because the way Taki pronouns that is so adorable. “Yeah, right. It's like… Yuma, Maki, Jungmo and Nicholas, I think,” he nods.
“Oh, that's dangerous,” Taki whistles, grimaces and lets out a chuckle. “I hope that was not an invitation to a cult or something, you know, darker.”
Euijoo can't help but laugh. His roommate is really hilarious.
“You need to stop watching those videos on youtube, like for real,” Euijoo stands up to change his clothes to be more comfortable. He has some tests to finish and some notes to complete.
It takes a few minutes for him to sit on his bed with tons of books and notebooks. He has a specific way to study, so it makes him calm, seeing this creative chaos.
“Hey, did you hear?” Taki asks, making Euijoo shudder. He was so focused on the question he didn't understand, he almost muted everything around him.
“Huh? What?” He frowns, looking around.
Taki smiles, pointing at the phone on the nightstand. “Someone’s texting you.”
“Ah, gosh, thank you!”
Euijoo moves gently, so the book doesn't fall, and takes his phone. Wow, a dozen messages. That's unusual for him.
nakakitayumadesss
hi its yuma!!!
so we finally decided
this saturday
[address]
we will start around 8pm
but you can come earlier if you wanna!!
yk to meet&greet others
also
that's a weird thing to say
but!!
someone said you have to wear glasses
IK THAT'S WEIRD!! you don't have to
actually
whatever-
have a good day
night?
evening.
sorry for the spam :|
byuneuijooo
hii!! thank you!!
Euijoo can't help but giggle. Yuma is so silly, he didn't know he was like this. Well, Euijoo doesn't know anything about everybody, so-
“What's so funny?” Taki asks teasingly.
“Uh, it's just Yuma texting me about the- Wait,” he looks down when more messages appear.
nakakitayumadesss
OH AND ONE MORE THING
your cute friend
aren't you like… roommates?
taki?? is his name taki??
he's playing basketball
yeah?
Euijoo squints, replying quickly.
byuneuijooo
yeah, taki!!
nakakitayumadesss
AWESOME
so can you invite him too??
or maybe give me his contacts :(
if it's okay!!!
“Taki-ya,” Euijoo says, smirking at his roommate. “You're invited, too. But Yuma wants your number to invite you like… By himself, you know. Can I give it to him?”
Taki’s cheeks flushed, he nods, biting his lip.
byuneuijooo
here you go [contact: TAKAYAMA]
you're welcome
nakakitayumadesss
thank you!!!!!!
Euijoo puts his phone to the side, paying all his attention to the test again. The smile is still on his face.
Euijoo's been so nervous for the entire week, waiting to this moment. He's really a homeboy. He bites his lower lip so hard it almost bleeds, when he enters Jungmo's house. The music is already playing, but really just for the atmosphere, not very loud. That's good, Euijoo thinks. He doesn't like loud music, it makes him a little anxious. That's the main reason why he doesn't like parties.
That's the reason he has his noise cancelling headphones with him today. Comfort is his all.
There's some students in the living room chatting and bopping their heads to the music. Euijoo doesn't know any of them. Taki, who is walking beside him, hugs him and whispers, “I'll go find Yuma, fine? Would it be okay?” He asks genuinely.
Euijoo nods with a smile. He will be fine, it's not that bad, right? There should be at least one person he knows… Right?
“Oh, Euijoo?” The tall guy walks towards him with a smile. “I'm Jungmo! So I'm glad you came, Yuma is somewhere in the backyard, if you want to talk to him.”
Euijoo finds Jungmo really nice. It's something about his aura that makes Euijoo feel comfortable near him. “Oh, thanks,” he smiles shyly.
“Do you want me to introduce you to others?” He looks back as if trying to find someone. “Gosh, I swear Maki was here a moment ago,” he rolls his eyes.
“Um, that's fine, maybe later? I wanna find Taki first,” Euijoo lets out a chuckle and Jungmo gives him a knowing nod.
“Yeah, of course, feel at home here!” He says and lets Euijoo go to the backyard.
Taki was here, talking to Yuma with a wide smile and laughing, so Euijoo thought it wasn't the right moment. He finds a sofa in the living room to sit down and try to relax. The atmosphere here is really good, not overwhelming for him. Maybe it's just for now, maybe it would be harder to stay here when more people arrive. Euijoo takes his phone out of his small bag, pursing his lips, and fixes his glasses. Instagram and Pinterest are not helping, he's still feeling a little awkward.
He knows he looks so obvious out of place here.
“The party isn't partying, yeah?” Someone’s voice from behind makes him shudder. “It's really-y-y boring, isn't it?” A person sits beside Euijoo, but he can't force himself to look up. “I told Maki this playlist is not the vibe, P1Harmony one would work better, but who wants to listen to Nicholas, who's only listening to loud music, right?”
Euijoo swallows.
How did he not recognize this voice immediately? Of course it's Nicholas. Of course it's the person Euijoo wanted not to meet today. He knew it would be impossible, because Nicholas is the most popular between them all, but he was delusional about it. It's not like there's a reason to not wanting Nicholas to be near him. Euijoo can't explain.
“Love your glasses, though,” Nicholas says with a smile and stands up when Jungmo calls him loudly. Euijoo is thankful for that, really.
Wait- Glasses? So it was Nicholas who said that? Who said Euijoo has to wear glasses today? What the actual fuck-
“Oh, here you are, I was looking for you,” Taki sits beside him. “How do you feel?” He asks quietly.
Euijoo smiles softly, “Pretty good for now,” he nods. “And you? I saw you and Yuma-”
“Oh, yeah,” Taki interrupts him. “He's a good guy, like,” he sighs, mumbling under his breath: “He said he likes me.”
Euijoo can't help but gasp and look into his eyes. “For real? Oh my goodness, that is-"
Taki nods, biting on his lip. He looks so shy. “I know, right? So we're like… We want to hang out a little to get to know each other better.”
Euijoo feels so happy for his friend, so he hugs him, making him giggle.
The music starts being louder, so Euijoo frowns. Maybe more people are arriving, so the party is starting now. He just hopes everything will be fine. He doesn't like drinking or something like that, so it may be hard to fit in. Maybe he's too boring for this?
Euijoo shakes his head slightly, taking a deep breath. No, everything will be good.
Or maybe not.
It's been an hour since the party started, and the whole living room is full of students and their friends. The backyard is not better.
The music is a little too loud, so Euijoo found a small room, Jungmo said it's okay to stay there, and put his headphones on. The first song on a shuffle was the new one from P1Harmony, so he just put it on repeat. For a half hour. He's okay, yeah, he's just fine.
Euijoo sighs, his eyes shut, he's sitting on the sofa, tucking his legs under him. He can feel the bass from the downstairs with his whole body, but it's way better here. He hums the song quietly, tapping his fingers on his knee to the rhythm. Euijoo is so focused on the lyrics and the back vocals of the song, he doesn't notice the doors of the room opening.
When someone sits beside him, he almost jumps on the sofa.
“What- How did- What the fuck,” he mumbles, frowning. It's Nicholas.
“I was looking for you,” he says, tilting his head to the side. “Actually, I'm sick of those songs, Maki's taste in music is,” he grimaces, making Euijoo chuckle. “I'm not fuck with those bass, like, meh.”
Euijoo just nods, pausing the song.
“I knew I could trust you, huh,” Nicholas grins. “Piwon song.”
“Ah, yeah, I remember you mentioned them,” Euijoo purses his lips, nodding. “So are you here… For what?” He asks uncertainly.
He was not expecting to sit with Nicholas in the same room.
Like, he can't tell exactly why, but Nicholas makes him feel something weird in his chest. Euijoo doesn't want to know what that feeling is, he's just okay with avoiding contact with him. He is good at such things, really.
But it seems like Nicholas is not going to leave him alone now. Sadly.
“To relax a bit,” he shrugs. “The living room is too crowded, it's really hard to breathe there,” he complains. Euijoo bites on his lip, not knowing what to do.
“So… What?”
Oh, goodness, that was rude.
But Nicholas just lets out a breathy chuckle. “I don't know, Euijoo-ya?” he leans on the back of the sofa. “Okay, I'm not good at lying. We're playing ‘Truth or Dare’ and I lost,” he rolls his eyes, “That was a quick round, but whatever. So now I have to confess to someone or kiss someone.”
Euijoo looks at his phone's screen. He doesn't know how this relates to Nicholas' presence here.
“Um, I don't get it,” he mumbles, pouting.
Nicholas bites his lip, squinting. “Really? So you're not that smart, yeah?” He says teasingly.
Euijoo smiles. He's not offended, he jokes about it on a daily basis.
“Maybe? I'm like… Just don't get it,” he shrugs.
Nicholas turns a little to face him, so Euijoo does the same, putting his headphones on his neck. Nicholas lowers his gaze following his movements.
“Well, I need to confess to someone, right?” Nicholas says, Euijoo nods. “Or kiss someone.” Euijoo nods again, slowly this time. “And now I'm here, with you. So that means…?”
Euijoo swallows. He knew what it meant, he just didn't want to believe in it. Like, how is this possible?
“Are you… Do you-” he whispers. Nicholas smiles softly, still looking into his eyes.
“Euijoo-ya, I want to tell you,” he starts, licking his lips. “That I like you. For real, I'm not joking, I know you can think that it's just a joke or a prank,” he frowns. “No. It's not. I really like you.”
Euijoo blinks rapidly, fidgeting the ring on his finger. “Wait, I'm just… I need to digest this information, wait,” he whispers, looking at his hands. “You like me? Is this even possible, what-” he mumbles, making Nicholas giggle.
“I guess so,” he shrugs. “Why shouldn't it be possible? You're so sweet and adorable, you're smart, attractive, handsome, and you have a good personality,” Nicholas says, looking at him. It seems like he's okay with Euijoo not making eye contact. “And I want to know you better, because I think I can fall in love even more that way.”
Euijoo swallows, finally looking at Nicholas. “You sound like… I'm really that good. Wow,” he lets out a nervous laugh.
Nicholas nods. “You are, Euijoo. I've been thinking about you for so long. I'm seeing you at the classes and lectures, I saw you at the basketball court a few times… I know that you're great at math and, gosh, you're incredible,” he sighs loudly. “Fuck- I really like you, Euijoo.”
Euijoo tries to breathe properly, biting the inside of his cheek. He wants to put his headphones on and play the song a few times, just to calm himself down. He really wants to, but it would be rude to Nicholas.
“I’m really… I don't know what to say,” Euijoo sounds guilty, and Nicholas frowns, looking worried. “I don't know, I just… I can't say anything right now, I need to process everything and- sorry,” he takes a deep breath.
Nicholas smiles softly. “You don't have to apologize, hey, take your time, I'm not forcing you, don't worry. What do you wanna do now?”
Nicholas asks as if he knows that Euijoo has some rituals to calm himself down. Maybe, he really knows, ‘cause it seems like Nicholas is really observant.
Euijoo bites the inside of his cheek. “Listen to the song?” He sounds so soft, Nicholas’ gaze is full of adore. “On repeat?”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” he nods. “Do you mind if I listen to it with you? Or do you want to use your headphones?”
The way he asks makes Euijoo feel better. He unlocks his phone, turning off the headphones and turning on the song. Nicholas' glancing at him, bopping his head to the music. He listens to every word Euijoo says about his favourite moments in the instrumental or in someone's vocal run.
“Wait, can you rewind it again? I think that was Intak's voice, yeah? That was wow,” Nicholas mumbles, and Euijoo can feel his cheeks flushed.
"I like you, too,” Euijoo whispers. He doesn't know why, but he wanted o say it now, when they're talking about someone's adlibs
He barely can hear Nicholas' replying to him with: “I'm happy being with you now.”
Well, maybe this party was not a bad thing to do so randomly.