Chapter Text
After practice, the room was buzzing softly. Jackets draped over the floor, water bottles scattered across, two of them lingering to catch their breath or scroll through their phones.
Jake collapsed onto the couch beside Sunghoon without thinking, shoulder bumping into him like it was second nature. Sunghoon didn’t look over, just let it happen, though his chest felt a little lighter from the contact.
“Come by my room tonight,” Sunghoon said quietly, careful to keep his voice low, casual, as if it were nothing at all.
Jake pretended to scroll through his phone, hiding the small grin tugging at his lips. “You’re assuming I’m free.”
Sunghoon finally glanced at him, unimpressed. “You always are.”
Jake’s smile softened, private and subtle. “Okay.”
Jay snorted from across the room. “You two do that thing a lot.
Sunghoon raised an eyebrow. “What thing?”
Jake straightened up a little, pretending to be casual. “We were.. talking strategy.”
Jay leaned back, arms crossed, clearly unimpressed. “Uh-huh. Talking.”
Jake didn’t miss a beat. “Exactly. Strategy.”
Sunghoon rolled his eyes, suppressing a laugh. “Sure, whatever you say.”
Jake stood suddenly. “I’m grabbing water.”
As he walked down the hall, Sunghoon watched him go, chest tight in that familiar way, like someone had taken a coil of energy out of him and wrapped it in a knot.
Once Jake was gone, Ni-ki had slid into the empty space, lowering his voice. “So,” he said casually, leaning forward, “you and Jake.”
Sunghoon stiffened slightly. “What about us?”
“You’re not subtle,” he said, amusement in his eyes. “You schedule it like it’s an appointment, hover around each other the second practice ends, get weird right before he leaves. It’s kind of impressive.”
Sunghoon exhaled slowly, defeated. “We’re careful.”
“Nope,” he corrected. “Not careful. Obvious. And yes, everyone notices.”
Before Sunghoon could answer, Jake returned, water bottle in hand, tossing him a towel with casual precision, oblivious to the conversation that had just taken place.
“Did I miss anything?” Jake asked.
“Nothing,” Ni-ki said easily. “Just bonding.”
Sunghoon handed Jake the towel, trying to keep his hands from brushing too closely over Jake’s. They had a rhythm but now it felt heavier, charged, like the air itself was conspiring around them.
⸻
Later, when Jake claimed to Ni-ki that he needed to go get something from his bag, Sunghoon waited, leaning casually against his doorframe, listening to the faint hum of the building settling into the evening. Jake slipped back quietly, closing the door softly behind him.
“You took your time,” Sunghoon said, voice low, private, eyes catching Jake’s in a way that made his heart pick up.
Jake shrugged, almost casual, but the weight behind it was undeniable. “You noticed.”
Sunghoon always noticed.
The kiss that evening was slow, unhurried, testing the water like they had a hundred times before but never without that spark of newness.
Jake’s hands found Sunghoon’s sleeves, fingers curling there. Sunghoon leaned in, grounding himself, letting the warmth of Jake press against him in silence.
They didn’t speak. Words would have ruined it. They hadn’t needed them before, and they didn’t need them now.
Outside the door, faint footsteps reminded them that Sunghoon’s room was never truly empty. Privacy was a privilege, not a right.
But for the next few minutes, the world shrank down to the two of them,the soft heat of shared space, the quiet hum of the air conditioning, the slow, deliberate closeness.
⸻
Jake eventually slipped back into the shared dorm proper, moving quietly toward his bed, trying not to draw attention. Ni-ki clearly awake longer than he should have been looked up from his phone.
“That took long..” he said casually. “What were you doing?”
Jake froze, then smiled smoothly. “Talking.”
A beat.
“Mhm,” he said, smirking knowingly. “Yeah. Talking.”
Jake dropped onto his pillow, heart still hammering, phone buzzing seconds later.
Sunghoon: Same time next week?
Jake pressed the phone to his chest, grinning softly. They’d do it again, same time, same place.