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“I mean, I have options,” Sanghyuk complained. Hongbin rolled his eyes exaggeratedly behind him. “I can’t wait around forever for someone who may or may not like me. My list of admirers grows longer by the day.”
“He likes you,” Wonsik muttered in a bored monotone, eyes not lifting from his phone. “I’ve told you a million times. He likes you.”
“Then I can’t wait around guessing when he’s finally going to get the courage to do something about it,” Sanghyuk snapped his gum. “There’s just so many hints I can drop before I look like an idiot.”
“Here’s an idea,” Hongbin said fake-brightly with the weariness of one who has heard all this too many times. “Why don’t you ask him out?”
“No way,” Sanghyuk scoffed.
“Scared,” Wonsik said under his breath, not softly enough to escape Sanghyuk’s hearing.
“I am not scared,” Sanghyuk indignantly hopped off the bench he’d been sitting on, grabbing his jacket to put it on. “I’m just not easy.”
“That’s true, you’re making our lives really hard right now.” Hongbin dodged a swipe from Sanghyuk as he got up from where he’d been laying beside Wonsik on the grass in the shade cast by the huge statue of their college’s founder. He had blessed Math in ten minutes where he wouldn’t have to listen to Sanghyuk whine endlessly about Jaehwan, shamelessly pretending Sanghyuk didn’t have just as big a crush on the senior as Jaehwan seemed to have on Sanghyuk.
They walked off the lawn back to the classroom blocks and two passing cheerleaders gave them an appreciative once-over. Sanghyuk winked at the girls.
“See, options,” Sanghyuk said earnestly, and Hongbin rolled his eyes. Again.
*
Sanghyuk quite liked the idea of being so intimidating that someone who was into him wouldn’t dare ask him out. It was sort of cute, actually. Jaehwan was sort of cute, too. Really cute – cute enough for Sanghyuk to want him to make a move, because he was kind of head over heels for Jaehwan. But only kind of – he had options, remember. He wasn’t going to go gaga over the first cute music major with a voice like honey and a stunning shoulders-to-waist ratio he saw – only he was, but nobody else needed to know that.
He thought of the first time they’d met, an open mic night on one of the campus bars he’d made Wonsik bring him to. If the singers weren’t good then at least they would be entertaining, and Sanghyuk had been planning to have a good laugh, get drunk and make out with someone hot. Instead, he’d listened in disbelief with his jaw on the floor as someone Wonsik briefly introduced as a senior in his major sang his heart out on stage, hitting every perfect note effortlessly. He’d goofed around a bit before letting someone else have a turn onstage – though the next guy was understandably reluctant to go after a voice that gorgeous – and the smile that shone on his face as people shouted admiration his way was probably the most attractive smile Sanghyuk had ever seen. Probably. (Sanghyuk had options.)
Sanghyuk was a total sucker for talent; he couldn’t help it. So he’d gone over and flirted his heart out – and Jaehwan had blushed and let Sanghyuk buy him drinks and sit too close and touch him too much and at the end of the night Jaehwan had left with his friends and Sanghyuk’s jaw was once more on the floor in disbelief.
“Never thought you could strike out like that,” Wonsik observed as Sanghyuk made his shellshocked way back to him. “Never seen you put so much effort into bagging someone, either.”
“It’s whatever,” Sanghyuk shrugged, the epitome of cool. The king of carelessness. The sultan of chill. Inside, he was breaking furniture.
But then Jaehwan had gotten his number from Wonsik and texted him the next day. And asked Wonsik about him. And invited him to the next open mic night. And texted him even more.
That had been three freaking months ago.
And he was still texting, and inviting Sanghyuk to watch him sing, and talking to Wonsik about him. Sanghyuk had officially gone round the bend. Hongbin was right, enough was enough: if Jaehwan was too chicken to do anything about it then it was up to him.
He kicked his feet idly as he waited for Jaehwan to go up onstage and for when he could put his plan into action. It was another open mic night and he had spent the better part of an hour choosing his clothes and styling his hair and if fucking Jaehwan made him strike out again in front of all these people they were going to Have Words. At the very least, he mused, Wonsik wouldn’t be able to keep calling him ‘scared’ anymore.
As if Kim ‘Hongbin and I are just friends!’ Wonsik had any room to call someone else too scared to make the first move, Sanghyuk snorted to himself, sliding a glance at the two across the table from him.
Jaehwan sat himself down on the tall stool in front of the mic with his guitar and beamed; the dark bar grew a few shades lighter. Action!
Sanghyuk got to his feet and leaned on the table beside him, grinning at Jaehwan before calling out to him. “Hyung, how about a duet? Do you know the chords to ‘Some’?”
Jaehwan was suitably taken aback – Sanghyuk had never told him about his own singing before – but pleasantly so, waving Sanghyuk over enthusiastically and getting him another chair next to his. The sunshine smile was blinding.
“You never said you liked to sing,” Jaehwan murmured to Sanghyuk as he strummed the opening chords for the song, practicing briefly as people applauded their welcome. Wonsik and Hongbin were both watching Sanghyuk with twin eyebrows raised sceptically; Sanghyuk lifted one of his back in challenge.
“Needs must, hyung,” Sanghyuk answered cryptically, ignoring Jaehwan’s questioning look. “You take Soyou’s part, okay? I can’t go that high. Go.”
“Sometimes, I get annoyed without even knowing, but my feelings for you haven’t changed,” Sanghyuk sang the opening lines, and swivelled himself to face Jaehwan who was nodding approvingly, still unaware. “Maybe I’m the weird one, I thought, as I struggled by myself.”
Jaehwan took up the next verse, his voice gliding over the higher register like it was no big deal at all to be able to sing the way he could. Sanghyuk could feel himself melting – could tell the same adoration on his face was mirrored in the audience – but forced himself to focus. When the chorus came he took Jaehwan’s chin gently in his hand and made him look into Sanghyuk’s eyes, the surprise on Jaehwan’s face the forefront to the catcalls from the people watching – probably thinking they were doing it on purpose, playing to the song. Sanghyuk was dead serious, and hoped it showed.
“These days, it feels like you’re mine, it seems like you’re mine but not,” he sang, waiting for Jaehwan to continue.
Jaehwan blushed.
“It feels like I’m yours, it seems like I’m yours but not,” he managed to continue as Sanghyuk ran light fingers over Jaehwan’s jaw, still staring into Jaehwan’s eyes. The catcalls grew louder.
“What are we?” Sanghyuk sang, sincere as all hell.
“I’m confused, don’t be aloof
It feels like we’re lovers, it seems like we’re lovers but not
Whenever you see me, you act so vague towards me
These days, I hate hearing that I’m just like a friend.”
Jaehwan improvised an ending for the song as if he was too overcome and couldn’t go on, his ears practically glowing red as the audience laughed and clapped for them as he played it up; putting his face in his hands and Sanghyuk grinning as if it was all just play. He gave Jaehwan a significant look as he got up to leave the stage and hoped like crazy Jaehwan had gotten the message. There was really no way he could be more obvious than this apart from kissing him onstage, which Sanghyuk had contemplated but shot down because he really didn’t need to look that desperate. He had options.
Who was he kidding, really?
Jaehwan came over once he’d finally finished his set, Sanghyuk thrumming on high alert ever since he’d left the stage – unable to hold a conversation or sit without fidgeting until Wonsik and Hongbin had just given up on him. Wonsik cleared his throat and got up to give them some privacy, dragging along a deathly curious Hongbin who had to be pried out of his chair.
Jaehwan smiled shyly at Sanghyuk and slid into the chair Hongbin had been forced to vacate, and then bit his lip.
“Was that just now-”
“Yeah,” Sanghyuk cut in quickly, smile quickly turning teasing. “Someone had to do it, and it clearly wasn’t going to be you, hyung, so..”
Jaehwan laughed and ducked his head. “I just didn’t want to ruin a good thing. I like being friends with you.”
“Was the intense and blatant flirting the first time we met not big enough of a hint?” Sanghyuk asked, exasperated, and Jaehwan hit him playfully then pretended to be bashful. Sanghyuk grinned, slightly terrified by the acutely fond feelings overtaking him.
“I’m going to ask you out, okay?” Sanghyuk said, and Jaehwan nodded, very seriously. “And you better say yes. And then at the end of that date I’m going to kiss you. And you better kiss back.”
“Why wait?” Jaehwan looked up at Sanghyuk, eyes dancing dark. “Seems like I’ve kept you waiting long enough.” Oh, Sanghyuk thought. God.
Jaehwan leaned over towards him and kissed Sanghyuk, sliding his hands into Sanghyuk’s hair as Sanghyuk gripped one of his thighs to steady himself. It was quick – they were in a crowded bar, after all – but good, Jaehwan’s plush lips moving softly against his own and Jaehwan’s scent in his head.
“Yes?” Jaehwan whispered.
“Absolutely,” Sanghyuk whispered back.
*