Chapter Text
"YAAAAAAAA!! CHOI SOOBINNN!!!!"
Soobin's focus, previously drawn to the games on his phone, was forcefully directed towards a figure running at him with its arms waving in the air like a maniac--oblivious to the bizarre nature of its appearance. Soobin's mouth drooped into a slight frown at the disturbance his nuisance of a friend was making.
"Beomgyu!" Soobin initially shouted but then cowered in self-consciousness. "Calm down, for real..."
Beomgyu was Soobin's neighbor and best friend since childhood. Despite their kind-of-conflicting personalities, the two managed to stay friends due to their long history with each other, their countless shared experiences bonding them for life. Soobin couldn't imagine that they would be friends if they hadn't met when they were kids, and he couldn't tell if that was a blessing or a curse.
Soobin and his loud friend have always walked to school with each other since kindergarten. However, it's getting more difficult to do so lately since Beomgyu's been getting worse and worse at waking up on time for school, often leaving Soobin in a difficult predicament: wait and suffer a tardy--or a relaxed, peaceful Beomgyu-less walk to school?
If he's going to look this scary while running after me, it almost feels right to run away.
Despite his urges to do so, Soobin stayed put until Beomgyu caught up with him, his breathing labored from the intense workout.
"Haaahhh...haaahhh..." Beomgyu gasped for breath. "I overslept again--but I caught you this time!" Beomgyu's oxygen-desperate face managed a cheeky smile.
"Maybe because I decided to stop and wait for you," Soobin rolled his eyes.
"Hmpph," Beomgyu pouted. "You say that like you were thinking about ignoring me!"
"Well, if people stare at you for acting weird then I don't want them to think I'm weird as well," Soobin retorted.
"I thought a part of being friends is that you'll stick by my side no matter what!" Beomgyu gasped dramatically. "How fake!"
"I don't remember agreeing to that," Soobin grumbled.
"You agreed when you befriended me!" Beomgyu threw his hands onto his hips, his wide eyes thinned with scrutiny.
"I'm just messing with you, Beomgyu," Soobin groaned. Beomgyu's energy never failed to wear him out.
"Fine, fine," Beomgyu accepted defeat. "But you did wait for me, after all. I guess you don't have it in you to be totally mean even if you want to~!"
"Shut up," Soobin hissed. For some reason, Beomgyu's comment flustered him.
The two sat in comfortable silence until the light turned green, granting them access to the other side of the street. It was a gorgeous morning: the sky was a pretty blue speckled with patches of picturesque cumulus clouds; the trees were green with the start of spring, a typical sight for the beginning of the school year. It all seemed so cinematic--and almost eerily perfect to Soobin.
They finally reached the bus stop after walking for around 5 more minutes; the brief walk had been more tiring due to both the cruel sun and the sleep deprivation that comes with being a student. Both Soobin and Beomgyu slumped down on the bench behind them.
"By the way, Soobin-hyung," Beomgyu initiated a conversation much to Soobin's dismay--the poor guy just wanted some peace and quiet before school. "Have you decided on a club to join yet?"
"A club?" Soobin sighed, slightly annoyed at the topic reemerging yet again. "I told you already, I'm really not interested in joining any clubs."
"What?! That's not true!" Beomgyu suddenly exclaimed. "You told me you would join a club this year!"
Did I? I'm sure it's possible that I did, in one of our many conversations where I dismissively go along with whatever he's going on about. Beomgyu always wants me to get more involved with others and expand my boundaries, but I'm doing just fine spending all of my free time playing games and watching anime instead. He needs to lay off.
"I'm worried you won't have good enough social skills needed for college! Or even right now!!" Beomgyu's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "I just want the best for you, hyung."
"Beomgyu, I'm fine," Soobin groaned. He felt like a little kid getting lectured by a teacher or parent, and it's rough feeling inferior to someone as immature as Beomgyu.
"You may be fine now, but you can't look into the future! I wouldn't be surprised if you became a total loser who's barely making ends meet because you don't know how to
keep a damn job!" Beomgyu said without pausing to take a single breath.
Ouch. It's harsh, but I can see where he's coming from--
Wait
Did I really just agree with him?
Soobin shook his head as if he were shaking away any hint of cooperation.
It's unfortunate that Beomgyu had a way of getting into Soobin's head despite the unstoppable absurdity of his words and the unmoving strength of Soobin's stubbornness.
"You understand me, right, hyung?" Beomgyu gave him that look. The look that can turn any coin or leaf in the universe. "Stop making me worry about you."
Soobin pondered the words of "wisdom" that have just been borderline-shouted at him, and despite the excessive use of hyperbole and a flimsy argument, Soobin could understand where Beomgyu was coming from, and the fact that he could scared him in a way.
"Fine..." Soobin finally muttered. "I'll check out a few clubs if it'll really make you happy."
Beomgyu beamed, "Yay!!! Hyung you're so easy!" Beomgyu threw himself at Soobin to pull him into a tight, suffocating hug as a way to further tease him, but Soobin luckily scooted over to dodge the assault. Only Beomgyu can go from genuinely concerned to playful in a matter of seconds.
Why do I let myself get lectured by a boy who behaves like he never got lectured once in his entire life? I guess him talking about being worried for me was what caught my attention; even if he does tend to over exaggerate on a lot of things, I'd still hate to see him get so upset, especially over me. He's annoying, but he's still my best friend.
Beomgyu took a nap on Soobin's shoulder the entire bus ride to school.
------
The school day went by quickly in spite of it being uneventful—usually, that makes the day agonizingly long. Void of any particular emotion, Soobin packed his bags as his classmates stormed outside of the room in hoards. He stared at the wall with a blank expression, dreading his fate for the rest of the afternoon.
I guess now’s the time to find a club to join. I really don’t think I can handle Beomgyu pestering me about this again. Maybe there’s some sort of anime club I can join…
Soobin swung his bag over his shoulder and started to head to the door when a familiar face shot out in front of him in the doorway.
“Soobin-hyung!!” Beomgyu lit up at the sight of his best friend.
Soobin yelped as he jumped back in surprise, making Beomgyu giggle.
“Why are you still in here?” Beomgyu asked, his eyes wide with never-ending curiosity.
“Why did you come looking for me in here?” Soobin rubbed his eyes, still not fully out of his daze.
“I was waiting for you down the hall, but you took soooo long to get out,” Beomgyu explained. “I ended up having to ask some random person where you were! Luckily they were in your class and saw you spacing out like a weirdo.”
There he goes, over-exaggerating every single detail again.
“You always get on to me for not paying attention, yet you pull this crap!" Beomgyu continued. "To be honest, I'm impressed. You've been worse than me!"
"Why are you here, anyway?" Soobin cut Beomgyu off with a sigh. "Don't you have your own club to tend to?"
"Well, about thattt-"
"Beomgyu, no," Soobin cut Beomgyu off again, the younger's true intentions finally having been exposed. He can read Beomgyu like a book, and Beomgyu knew it. Perks of being friends for over a decade.
"What?!" Beomgyu shrieked, making Soobin wince. "My club is totally awesome!"
"You only joined because you wanted an executive position, and since that club is so lame nobody else wanted any of them so you took your chance and snatched one" Soobin snapped.
"Um," Beomgyu stuttered, shocked at the insane reading he'd just received. "I enjoy poetry, too..."
"Bull," Soobin deadpanned.
"Shut up!!" Beomgyu's volume rose again.
This is nothing personal. Even if Beomgyu wasn't the vice president, I still wouldn't join the literature club. Who would? That club's only for geeks who like to do non-school-related schoolwork outside of school hours. It's the perfect bully material.
"I should've known this sudden interest in me joining a club was just a marketing attempt for your geeky club," Soobin began to adjust his bag. "I'm going to check out the anime club now."
"Wait! Soobin-hyung, wait!" Beomgyu desperately chased after Soobin.
Soobin ignored Beomgyu's pleas with ease; it's a prestigious skill anyone can develop after being friends with someone like Beomgyu for so long. He continued down the corridor, the warm afternoon sun casting a glow that juxtaposes the rigid tension and growing anxiety inside his mind.
"Pleaseeee Soobin-hyung," Beomgyu caught up to him and tried to win him over with a pout and puppy eyes.
When he saw guilt-tripping won't work, he went the opposite route: shaming.
"You know, it's quite ironic how you refuse to join the literature club because you're scared you'll get bullied for being a nerd yet you feel
comfortable joking the anime club," Beomgyu snarkily remarked once Soobin got ahead of him. "Being an otaku is a bigger act of social suicide than writing poems every day!"
He could see his plan worked when Soobin halted in his tracks and slowly turned back to look at Beomgyu, frustration evident on his face.
"Why do you even care so much?!" Soobin huffed at the way Beomgyu can make him do whatever he wants him to. "God, you're so annoying sometimes."
"I just really want to spend more time with my best friend!" Beomgyu whined, the kind-of-lie obvious.
"If that was true in any capacity you would've asked me to join when it was created," Soobin refused to be fooled by the lame excuse.
"Okay, that may not be the full reason but that's definitely part of it!" Beomgyu, on the other hand, refused to back down.
"What's the rest of your dumb reason?" Soobin groaned with exhaustion.
"Well..." Beomgyu's manner shifted from bold to timid in a matter of seconds. "I might've told my club mates that I'd bring a new member."
...
Soobin's fury somehow tripled.
"What the hell, Beomgyu?!" he shouted, his voice echoing down the corridor.
"I know, hyung, I'm sorry!" Beomgyu shouted back. "Can you just come this one day and pretend you don't like it and quit?! Please!??"
"No! I'm not going to upset a bunch of randoms because you made a promise you can't keep!" Soobin kept shouting.
"They're not 'randoms', they're my friends," Beomgyu pouted for the millionth time. "Plus... Taehyun made cupcakes."
Beomgyu's small, sheepish smile at the end of his sentence mellowed Soobin out a little. Or was it the mention of cupcakes? Who knows, Soobin likes Beomgyu and a sweet treat just as equally it seems.
I swear, Beomgyu just acts dumb to be dumb, there's no way someone can be this much of an airhead naturally. And the only reason he's this way is because he gets too excited over literally everything, no human can do that!
"Fine," Soobin sighed heavily, but it's hard to sound disappointed when he sees Beomgyu's face light up like a puppy getting a treat. "But only for a cupcake, then I'm gone forever."
"Deal!" Beomgyu smiled and ecstatically grabbed Soobin's arm, pulling him towards the literature club room.