Work Text:
“Welcome back to BND 88.5 FM, your favorite local university radio station! I’m your host, Jaehyun, aka DJ Smooth Operator, and I’m here with my co-host Woonhak, aka DJ Hold the Peanuts Cause I’m Allergic-”
“I’m DJ 007! We went over this,” Woonhak huffs, crossing his arms.
“And I told you to look into copyright infringement, but, if you insist, DJ 007 it is. Don’t expect me to chip in for your legal fund,” Jaehyun responds, and Woonhak rolls his eyes, muttering under his breath that he’s not even allergic to peanuts.
Jaehyun sees Taesan, the studio manager, motioning for them to keep it moving.
“Welcome back to another school year. I hope everyone’s having a good syllabus week. This semester, we’re returning with your favorite Wednesday night show, ‘Love on the Air.’ You call in with your tales of love life woes, and DJ 007 and I will do our best to turn that woe into woah!”
“Let’s fix your love lives!” Woonhak hits the sound effects board enthusiastically, and cheering noises fill the air until Jaehyun pulls his hand off.
“Please call in, and let’s chat,” Jaehyun concludes, and immediately the red light in front of them starts rapidly pulsing, indicating that they have someone on the line.
“We have our first caller!” Woonhak cheers into the mic. “Hello, you’re on ‘Love on the Air.’ How can we help you today?”
“Ummmm….hi,” a male voice says. “So this issue I’m calling about doesn't involve me. It’s about my friend. He’s had a crush on a guy since freshman year, but he still hasn’t made a move.”
“What do you think is stopping him?”
“He’s scared that his crush doesn’t feel the same way and doesn’t want to ruin their friendship, but he talks about this guy constantly. How handsome he is, how funny he is, blah, blah, blah. Honestly, if I hear one more word about this guy I’m going to go apeshi-“
“Allllllll right!” Jaehyun interrupts. “Thank you for sharing. DJ 007, what do you think about this situation? What should our lovely caller do to help this friend out?”
Woonhak strokes his chin thoughtfully. “I read a TikTok comment once that said if you wear your crush’s favorite color, they’ll start to associate you with something they like, and then they’ll start to like you too! It was some psychology trick or something. Oh, and if you send them a good morning text with a winking emoji every day, your crush will start the day thinking about you and fall in love with you. I saw that in a movie once! But now that I think about it, that may have also been a TikTok comment…”
“DJ 007, that’s genius!” Jaehyun cheers, and they high five.
“Uh, I don’t know-” the caller starts, but Jaehyun and Woonhak are too busy hitting the sound effects board to hear, and they don’t notice that Woonhank’s hand is getting dangerously near the disconnect call button until suddenly they hear a click, and the line goes dead.
Taesan buries his head in his hands and does deep breathing exercises.
“Oops.” Woonhak looks at Jaehyun with wide eyes. Jaehyun opens his mouth to speak but then sees the red button flashing again.
Jaehyun gives Woonhak a thumbs up. “Hello caller, you’re on ‘Love on the Air,’ how can we help you today?”
Nailed it.
———
———
“I can’t believe they have two stoners who have never been in a relationship running the university’s dating advice show. We’re doomed.”
“Good to see you, Taesan! How was your summer break?” Jaehyun pays no mind to the comment as they’re packing up the studio.
“Boring. Worked on music. Played some video games.”
“Didn’t Leehan visit you?” Woonhak asks, slipping his backpack on as the trio exits the studio. Taesan shoots Woonhak a dirty look as he locks the door, and Jaehyun gasps dramatically.
“Leehan visited you?! Why didn’t I get an invite?” Jaehyun whines, giving Taesan his best puppy eyes.
Taesan fidgets. “Leehan and I started dating over the summer. That’s why he came to visit me.”
“Leehan? You’re dating Leehan? My Leehan who I introduced you to? When did it start? Have you guys kissed yet? Do you have matching phone cases?” Jaehyun tries to peer at the phone that is gripped tightly in Taesan’s hand.
“Sorry, Taesan…” Woonhak says sheepishly.
“Why did Woonhak know before me? I’m friends with both of you.” Jaehyun pouts as they start walking through in the direction of their usual post-radio show destination: the local convenience store.
Taesan looks apologetic. “I know, we were going to tell you sometime soon, I promise. You know, with your situation and all, we wanted to wait a bit…”
“My situation?” Jaehyun asks, stopping in front of the convenience store, but the other two push forward, and the bell above the door jingles as it opens.
Woonhak urgently makes a motion of dragging his finger across his throat and shaking his head, but before Taesan can speak again, they are interrupted.
“Hey guys!”
They turn around to see Leehan standing behind the cash register, his blonde hair brushing past his ears and thick-rimmed glasses perched on the end of his nose. He is wearing his convenience store work shirt and name tag. He looks cute, and Jaehyun loves telling the homies they look cute, because fuck patriarchical expectations of male friendships, but today he has to skip the pleasantries. He has a bone to pick.
“You!” He shouts, making Leehan jump as he points an accusing finger. “You’re dating Taesan and you didn’t tell me!”
A look of surprise flashes across Leehan’s face. He turns to Taesan. “You told him, babe? I thought we were waiting because of his situation?”
“My situation? Not this again!” Jaehyun throws up his hands in exasperation.
“Babe?” Woonhak makes a gagging noise.
Leehan observes the chaos in front of him before speaking. “This is worse than I thought. I get off in five minutes. Meet me outside.”
Five minutes pass, and Leehan insists that “Jaehyun should be sitting down for this conversation,” so the group walks to Jaehyun and Leehan’s shared apartment a few blocks away.
Jaehyun and Leehan met in their freshman year in an introductory biology class. Jaehyun needed to complete a science class as part of his graduation requirements; meanwhile, Leehan has a passion for all things biology. They were randomly assigned lab partners, and Leehan was the only reason Jaehyun managed to scrape by with a passing grade. All Jaehyun can remember from the class is that photosynthesis is a thing plants do.
Over the course of the semester, they bonded over their mutual love of cartoons, comedies, weed, games, and late-night snacking. They soon became close friends, deciding to live off-campus together the following year. Taesan expanded the duo to a trio their second year after Jaehyun met him in a music production class, and Woonhak folded into the group naturally the following year after Leehan tutored him for the very same introductory biology class.
Leehan leads the group through the front door. His massive fish tank bubbles in the corner (Jaehyun is not allowed to feed the fish unsupervised after an incident in which his hand slipped and half the container of food fell into the tank). Leehan lays out snacks for the group, and Woonhak immediately shoves a handful of pretzels in his mouth.
“So…..my situation?” Jaehyun says.
The other three all share a look before Leehan speaks.
“You’re in love with Park Sungho, and at this point, if you and a tortoise were in a race to ask Sungho out first, the tortoise would win.”
Leehan says it gently like Jaehyun is a startled baby deer, but it doesn’t matter because he immediately starts coughing so hard that Woonhak has to smack him on the back a few times.
“Come again?” Jaehyun manages to get out as his coughs subside.
This time, Taesan answers. “Park Sungho. Student council member. On the club soccer team. Guy with wide shoulders and that small waist you ramble about holding-”
“Hey!” Jaehyun’s face flames.
“He does talk about his waist a lot,” Woonhak mumbles with his mouth full of pretzels.
Jaehyun sinks into the couch. His mind is fuzzy, but he’s not sure if it is from the weed he smoked before the radio show or the Sungho talk.
Here’s an important thing to know about Jaehyun: he’s an unwavering hopeless romantic. He was raised on a steady diet of rom-coms and unconditional love from his parents. All that to say, of course he believes in soulmates, love at first sight, and the lost art of courtship.
Jaehyun met Sungho during freshmen orientation. The proverbial skies parted and angels started singing as he laid eyes on the most gorgeous man in the entire world. Jaehyun’s heart had begun racing like he had just finished a marathon, and his palms felt clammy (and that was just from looking at his side profile!). The two of them made eye contact and Jaehyun swears his knees buckled and he almost passed out (Woonhak says he has a habit of over-exaggerating though).
Thankfully, Jaehyun managed to pull his shit together and introduced himself. The two of them developed a friendship over the years, and Jaehyun’s crush only grew. Sungho was just so cool (and pretty, did he mention pretty?).
Jaehyun is a bundle of energy, bouncing around to different activities and friends. Sometimes he feels pressure to always be that person, the happy care-free one. Sungho’s relaxing aura pulls him in like a gravitational force, turning the thrumming tension under his skin peacefully quiet. Around Sungho he can be any version of himself he’s feeling that day, no mask or pretense.
“— and we are unsure if you are going to do anything about it…” Taesan is talking, Jaehyun realizes, oops.
“What do you mean? I’ve been doing a ton of things!” Jaehyun sits up at that comment.
“What have you done exactly? You’ve liked the guy since freshman year, yet you are still doing this weird mating dance around each other.”
“I’ve offered to help him with his homework!” Jaehyun says, proudly sticking his chest out like he answered a trivia question correctly. He and Sungho often have overlapping classes.
“Didn’t he think you were behind on the assignment?” Woonhak asks. Jaehyun has told him about this interaction at least five separate times.
Jaehyun thinks back to that moment. They were walking back from class. Sungho had looked extra adorable that day in an oversized cardigan. His dark hair perfectly framed his face, and all Jaehyun wanted to do was reach out and gently comb his hands through the silky strands. Jaehyun wracked his brain for an excuse to keep hanging out with him.
“Do you want to go to the library and finish our homework together?”
“Oh, Jaehyun, have you not done the assignment yet? I can help you with any questions you have.”
Not exactly what he was looking for since Jaehyun wanted to be the white knight that rode in and saved Sungho from homework hell, but a win is a win. He ended up listening to Sungho explain an assignment he had completed the day before, nodding enthusiastically at every word he said.
“I also bring him coffee in the mornings when we have class together!” Jaehyun adds to his list of Sungho-wooing deeds.
“I think he thinks it’s free because Riwoo is the barista at the coffee shop you go to and they’re best friends,” Woonhak responds. “Doesn’t he always tell you to tell Riwoo he says thank you?”
“Oh… I thought he meant to tell Riwoo thank you for making the coffee?”
“Nah, he definitely thinks that it’s free,” Taesan chimes in.
Jaehyun reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. He opens up his notes app and clicks on the one titled The 100 Steps of Courting Sungho. He starts waving his phone around. “Here, everyone! Proof that I have a plan!”
Woonhak snatches the phone out of Jaehyun’s hand, and Jaehyun scrambles to grab it back with no success. Woonhak’s one arm is firmly planted on his chest, keeping him stuck in his seat while the other hand holds the phone, eyes growing wider as he reads. “Jaehyun, respectfully, what the hell is this?”
Taesan stands up, grabbing the phone out of Woonhak’s hand and starts reading aloud. “Step 23: ask if he got a haircut. Step 55: first kiss (preferably at sunset for max romantic feels). Step 63: Instagram soft launch. Step 78: Instagram hard launch. Step 100: Marriage and babies…I’m not going to comment on what Step 69 says.”
Jaehyun manages to break free from Woonhak’s hold, rushing over to Taesan’s side and points at the phone. “See, I’m on Step 50: come across cool and nonchalant and not pushy but also totally down if he wants to date.”
Leehan, who had been watching the chaos unfold, finally interjects. “Jaehyun, you’re overthinking all of this. I promise you don’t need a step-by-step guide or any overelaborate plan. You just need to be yourself and upfront about your feelings. At this rate we’ll be graduating before you can even maintain consistent eye contact with him.”
Jaehyun halfheartedly grumbles but immediately starts brainstorming.
Leehan claps his hands together once. “Okay, enough of that. It’s Mario Kart time!”
“Dibs on Waluigi!” Woonhak yells, diving for the controller.
A few blocks away, another equally passionate conversation is happening.
“You did what?!” Sungho screeches as his friend Sunoo picks at his cuticles.
“I called into that radio show with the guy you’re obsessed with— what’s his name again?” Sunoo turns to look at his boyfriend, Sunghoon, who is on his phone playing Candy Crush in the corner.
“Jaehyun,” Sunghoon replies, not looking up.
“Yes! Jaehyun.”
Sungho starts pacing around the room, pulling at his hair. “Oh god. Oh god.” He whirls around to look at Sunoo. “What did you say?”
“That I have a friend who has a crush on someone, but he’s too nervous to do something about it. Don’t worry, I didn’t say your name or anything like that, and they didn’t realize it was me.”
Sungho’s pacing speed picks up, and he switches from hair pulling to arm flailing. “I’m going to have to change my name and transfer to another school!”
“Relax, Sungho, I promise this will work in your favor! I wanted to plant the idea of crushes in his head, so then it would make him think about his crush on you, and he’d finally do something about it.” Sunoo nods, looking proud of himself.
Sungho loves Sunoo, but because Sunghoon had a massive crush on him last year and didn’t waste any time confessing and wooing Sunoo, he thinks that it’s that simple.
“He doesn’t have a crush on me. He thinks of me as just a… friend.”
Sunghoon snorts, eyes still trained on his phone. “He definitely has a crush on you. You can practically see it from outer space.”
Sunoo looks at Sungho, shrugging with a finality that says, See? He gets it.
Sungho realizes at that moment what he needs to do: he needs to talk to Riwoo. He mumbles a quick goodbye before grabbing his stuff and racing out the door.
Riwoo’s phone is perpetually set to DND, and he’ll text you back in 3-5 business days if you’re lucky. However, a perk of being one of Riwoo’s closest friends means Sungho knows all of his usual haunts. His favorite one, in particular, is the third floor study lounge in the humanities building on the far edge of campus that few people go to because it’s inconvenient to get to and the air conditioning breaks frequently.
For some reason, Riwoo seems like he is expecting Sungho.
“I was expecting you’d show up,” Riwoo says cryptically, not looking up from his laptop.
“Oh?” Sungho slides into the seat across the table from Riwoo.
“What’s up?” Riwoo asks, pushing his glasses up his nose and closing his laptop lid so he can look at Sungho.
Sungho fidgets with the sleeve of his shirt. “DoyouthinkJaehyunlikesme?”
Riwoo blinks slowly. “Why are you asking me? Wouldn’t it make more sense to talk to him?”
Sungho pouts. “Riwoo, you don’t understand. He runs a radio program. He’s basically a campus celebrity! I’m sure he has people crushing on him all the time and asking him out.”
Riwoo furrows his brow. “Sungho, he runs the Wednesday night dating show that like max five people listen to, you’re acting like he’s up for a Pulitzer Prize for journalism. Plus, you’re on the student council. It’s not like you’re a campus nobody.”
Sungho shoulders hunch, drawing inwards. “I don’t want to ruin the friendship, you know, in case he doesn’t feel the same way…I care about him so much.” He whispers the last part like a confession.
Riwoo’s eyes soften. “I think you underestimate Jaehyun. Put trust in him, and I promise he’ll be able to handle this conversation.”
Sungho nods thoughtfully before thanking Riwoo and standing to leave. Riwoo watches him exit the room before picking up his phone and rereading the last text he received before Sungho arrived.
Jaehyun: Heyyy!!! Do u know Sungho’s fav color? I think it’s blue bc it makes his eyes shine but I wanted to double check lol
Riwoo sighs.
———
———
Jaehyun bounced into Sungho's life as an agent of change that Sungho didn’t realize he desperately needed until he was swept up in it.
When Sungho got his first less-than-stellar grade on an exam, he felt his hands curl up into fists, knuckles whitening. The word failure cruelly rattled around in his mind.
“Wow, Sungho! You should be proud of yourself, you passed even after you’ve been sick all week. The prof said this was the hardest exam of the year too.”
Sungho’s expression melted from disappointment to confusion as he turned to look at Jaehyun who was sitting next to him with his wide brown eyes trained on Sungho.
“Proud of myself?” Sungho choked out.
“Yeah! That’s really impressive.” Jaehyun nodded assuringly. Sungho felt a warm, comforting sensation spread across his body, and he unclenched his fists.
Sungho swallowed his self-criticism and shot Jaehyun a small smile, mumbling “Thank you,” before turning away, hoping the other man didn’t notice his bright red ears.
Another thing about Jaehyun is that he’s affectionate. He easily throws an arm around a friend, cuddles up next to someone on the couch, or blows a kiss without a second thought.
Every time Jaehyun touches him, Sungho feels his heart sing, and he wishes he can pause the moment and live in it forever. However, when the moment passes, and Sungho sees Jaehyun throw Riwoo a wink or reach for a grumbling Taesan’s hand, it feels like a cold bucket of water dumped on his head.
That’s just how he is, don’t read too much into it, he tells himself wistfully.
To Sungho, Jaehyun is the sun and he is a small planet orbiting him, hoping to grab even a glimpse of his rays.
———
———
On the second day of Jaehyun wearing an all blue outfit Taesan decides to intervene.
“Hey guys!” Jaehyun says, sitting down across the table from Taesan and Leehan in the campus cafeteria.
“He’s doing it again.” Leehan stares intently, like he is witnessing a creature in its natural habitat that he doesn’t want to spook.
Taesan pauses, fry halfway to his mouth. “Dude, you’re taking dating advice from your own dating show, big mistake. Even worse, it was dating advice that Woonhak gave. Put on a regular outfit, please.”
Jaehyun looks down at himself. His bright blue hoodie is layered over his baby blue t-shirt and paired with a pair of jeans, blue converse, and a blue beanie.
“You look like a goddamn blueberry,” Taesan adds after he sees Jaehyun looking down at himself. “Sungho doesn’t want to date a blueberry.”
Jaehyun widens his eyes. He leaps out of his seat, causing a grating, scraping noise from his chair pushing back, and the table next to the group shoots them a dirty look. “I-I gotta go! See you all later!” Jaehyun calls over his shoulder as he beelines towards the exit.
Across the cafeteria, Sunoo’s eyes follow Jaehyun’s movements like a hawk. “Just as I suspected,” he mutters to himself gleefully before pulling out his phone.
Sunoo: lover boy was just in the cafeteria wearing an all blue tragedy of an outfit AKA your fav color. he’s using the “how to get your crush’s attention” dating advice from his own show.
Sungho: Not this again! Jaehyun is a trendsetter and likes to experiment with style.
Sunoo: omg you are helpless. meet me at my place in 1 hour. we’re taking pics.
“We’re going to make you look so hot that Jaehyun will spontaneously combust and rise from his ashes like a phoenix so he can finally ask you out because I have officially given up all faith in you doing anything about it.”
Sungho stands frozen in Sunoo’s doorway, hand still on the doorknob. “Excuse me?” he manages to squeak out.
“You heard me,” Sunoo says, waving off Sungho’s protests as he leads him through the apartment to his bedroom. Sungho takes one look at Sunoo’s bed, which is currently piled high with sequins, leather, and mesh. Buttons by The Pussycat Dolls is playing from Sunoo's speaker, and Sungho realizes the gravity of the situation.
“Sunoo, I-”
Sungho doesn’t manage to get out another word before a mesh crop top hits him in the face followed by a pair of leather pants.
“I’m thinking we start with this. Now change.” Sunoo shoos Sungho away to the bathroom.
Sungho puts on the clothes, muttering to himself, “This is so silly. I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
Sungho’s usual attire consists of t-shirts, sweatshirts, and cardigans. He can’t remember the last time he had worn an outfit like this, if ever.
“Okay, I’m coming out, but you can’t laugh at me. If you laugh at me, I’m going home, and we forget all about this,” Sungho calls out through Sunoo’s bathroom door before stepping out. He fidgets under Sunoo’s gaze and instinctively wraps his arms around his exposed waist. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”
The intensity in Sunoo’s gaze grows and a smirk crawls up his lips. “Perfect. Perfect,” he mutters to himself with the same energy of a Bond villain. He waves Sungho over to a spot where he claims the “natural light is hitting,” his phone clutched in his hand like a weapon. “Okay, stand right here.”
Sungho shuffles over and stands in the designated place, arms stiffly at his side and spine ramrod straight.
Sunoo rolls his eyes. “I see I’m going to need to fully creative direct this.” He swiftly moves so that he’s standing next to Sungho, rearranging his posture to something more relaxed. “Okay, good. Now look off to the side.”
Sunoos spends time carefully directing Sungho until finally he decides that he’s “gotten the shot.”
Sungho peers over Sunoo’s shoulder as he’s selecting photos and his cheeks turn pink. “I-I don’t know if I can post that! My stomach is out. I never dress like this. People are going to be so confused.”
Sunoo shakes his head like that’s the silliest statement. “Sungho, my sweet summer child. That is exactly the point - it’s unexpected. So unexpected that we will hear Myung Jaehyun explode from across campus once he sees the post.”
“You keep mentioning Jaehyun exploding.”
“Figure of speech, love,” Sunoo waves his hand, but Sungho still has doubts. “Okay, let’s decide the perfect caption and posting time, then watch everything unfold.”
Later that evening, Jaehyun is laying facedown on his bed confiding with his pillow. “I don’t know what to do,” he mumbles to himself, voice muffled by the sheets. “Leehan said be myself. What does that even mean? What is oneself? Are you as you perceive yourself, or are you as others perceive you? Does Sungho perceive me? I hope he does.”
Jaehyun is so distracted with his wallowing that he misses Woonhak letting himself into the apartment with his spare key until he announces, in a voice that is louder than necessary, “Get ready to get absolutely owned at Catan!” He stops in front of Jaehyun’s bedroom doorway and takes in the sight before him.
“Dude, what happened?”
“I dressed like a blueberry!” Jaehyun howls pitifully.
Woonhak tiptopes up to the Jaehyun-shaped lump on the bed and gingerly pats his shoulder. “There, there. I have no idea what that means, but it sounds tough, man.”
“Thanks, Woonhak.”
Leehan calls from the living room, “I’m giving you all one minute to get your butts over here or else I’m putting down my first two settlements right away, and I’m letting Taesan put his settlements down second. Boyfriend privileges.”
“Thanks, babe.”
Woonhak and Jaehyun exchange a quick glance before bolting out of the room.
“Taesan doesn’t even like Catan!” Woonhak protests, throwing himself into a chair at the gaming table.
A few rounds later, Jaehyun’s phone buzzes. He is expecting to hear back from a professor about an assignment, so he immediately checks his phone. However, instead of an email notification, he sees park_sungho03 shared a post. He lets out a gasp and puts his phone down on the table like it’s on fire. This is an unexpected variable. Sungho doesn’t post often, and when he does it’s usually after a club soccer game or his family’s yearly summer beach trip. This is neither of those cases. The world must be ending.
“I’ve told you this a million times, playing only for ‘longest road’ is fool’s gold,” Leehan lectures Woonhak, who is staring at the board, brows furrowed.
Taesan raises his eyebrow at Jaehyun. “You okay?”
“Oh, yes,” Jaehyun chuckles nervously and picks up his phone again in a manner that he hopes is nonchalant. “Thought I saw… a bug. Yeah, a bug.”
He dips his head down and takes a deep breath before clicking the notification. His screen is filled with what is essentially a thirst trap. Sungho is dressed in a mesh top that is riding up, showing off his toned stomach. Slung low on his hips are a tight pair of leather pants. He’s looking off to the side at an angle that shows off his jawline.
This time, Jaehyun screeches.
Leehan briefly turns his attention away from Woonhak. “Jaehyun, I know you’re in last place right now, but you can turn it around. I’ll give you some pointers in a second."
Jaehyun nods at Leehan’s words, but he’s not registering them. He’s frantically typing on his phone Oh my goodness so yeppi. He thinks he’s forwarding the post to Woonhak for a future crash out, but his fingers are shaking, he feels like he just drank 3 Red Bulls, and he doesn’t realize he’s commenting directly on the post instead of in DMs until it’s too late. His eyes stare unblinkingly at his own comment, his own error. He scrambles, going to delete the comment, but before he can, he receives a reply:
park_sungho03: @myungjae_ Thank you, Jaehyun! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)
Jaehyun's fingers freeze. He reads Sungho’s response. Then he rereads it. A smile takes over his face. He opens up his Instagram DM history with Sungho. The most recent message was a video of an orange tabby cat trying to take a nap on a golden retriever's head, which Jaehyun had sent with the message, look it’s us. Sungho liked the message and responded, so cute!
Jaehyun wants to type out I’d let you ruin my life and then beg for seconds. He settles on, we should hang out soon!! I feel like I haven’t seen u in a min.
Sungho's response comes a few minutes later: I saw you this morning for class haha but I agree we need to hang out soon. The student council is hosting a free yoga class on the west field a few days from now if you want to come?
Jaehyun has never done yoga in his entire life. Yoga!! Count me in! I love yoga.
He spends the rest of the evening buried in his phone, messaging Sungho with a wide smile on his face.
Leehan wins the Catan game (if anyone cares).
———
———
“Welcome back, listeners! You already know what time it is – it’s ‘Love on the Air,’ and DJ Smooth Operator and I are here to answer all your pressing love life questions.”
“Yes, thank you, DJ 007,” Jaehyun says. “Tonight, we have a very special guest. It’s my roommate, Leehan, who is actually in a relationship. This is 'boots on the ground' reporting people.”
Leehan smiles and speaks into the microphone, “Thank you for having me, and shout out to my super cute boyfriend, Taesan.”
Leehan throws Taesan an overexaggerated wink and the other man turns beet red and pretends to be looking at his phone, but Jaehyun sees him smile.
“Okay, Leehan, first question,” Woonhak adjusts the fake glasses he puts on for the radio show “to look smarter” even though Jaehyun has told him multiple times it’s audio only. “Do you think your boyfriend would still love you if you turned into a worm?”
Leehan ponders the question. “I know Taesan isn’t the biggest fan of invertebrates, but I do think if he made a little worm-safe pouch for me I could travel around in his pocket. He would need to keep my habitat moist, of course, or else I would die.” He pauses a beat. “In this hypothetical, would I retain my ability to see, or am I only able to sense light or darkness through my receptor cells like a worm?” He pauses again. “Do you think the university would let me graduate if I became a worm?”
“I don’t know about all of that, but I do know that you’d need to steer clear of the birds in the park,” Woonhak responds. “Next question. Would you let Taesan play as Baby Mario in Mario Kart if he asked?”
Everyone knows that Baby Mario is Leehan’s character. Woonhak once tried to play as Baby Mario, and Leehan threatened to take away his “friends and family” convenience store discount. It was a whole saga that took over the friend group discourse for an entire week.
“If he really wanted to.”
Woonhak gasps. “It’s true love!” he declares.
“I have a question,” Jaehyun says. “Before you became official, what’s something Taesan did that you really appreciated? Something that one of our listeners could do if they wanted to get their crush’s attention?”
“Ahh, yes, one of ‘our listeners’” Woonhak says, adding air quotes. Jaehyun pokes him in the ribs.
Leehan hums thoughtfully. “I think it’s in the small moments that all add up to show that you’re thinking about them. For example, I remember when Taesan went to the only convenience store that sells this hard-to-find brand of ice cream that I like so he could bring it to me when I was stressed about a test. Or when he watched Dr. Who because he knows it’s my favorite show. ”
“Oh wow. And how did that make you feel?”
“Special.” Leehan smiles to himself. “It made me feel really special.”
Special.
The word sticks with Jaehyun. It sits with him when he’s back at the apartment that night, laying in bed staring at the ceiling. It rolls around in his mind, like an object he can pick up and examine from every angle. It perches on his shoulder when he’s brushing his teeth in the morning, looking at his reflection in the mirror.
Sungho has many things that make him special. So many things that Jaehyun could write sonnets, soliloquies, and essays on it. But Leehan had said to start simple.
Then, Jaehyun has an idea.
_______
_______
“Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god!” Sungho stares at the other side of the field. “Sunoo! Riwoo! He’s here!”
“Who?” Riwoo looks up from where he had been rolling out his yoga mat. He squints against the sun, trying to make out the figure that Sungho is gesturing at frantically. As the person comes into focus, Riwoo sees floppy brown hair and hears a familiar boisterous laugh, and he internally sighs. He can already feel Sungho vibrating out of his skin next to him like a chihuahua. “Why are you surprised to see him? Didn’t you invite him?”
“Yes, but still!” Sungho flaps his arms before turning towards the group that is approaching.
“Jaehyun! Leehan! Woonhak”! Sungho greets the group a little too aggressively with an intense smile on his face. “Thank you for coming!”
“Of course!” Leehan says. “I’m always looking to get my yoga on and support my hardworking peers on the student council.” He subtly nudges Jaehyun.
“Oh, yes,” Jaehyun says. “Can I help you uh… roll out your mat?”
Sungho blushes and nods. While they are busy talking, Woonhak turns his attention to Sunoo, who’s watching the entire interaction gleefully.
“Hi! I’m Woonhak. I’m friends with Jaehyun.”
“I’m Sunoo, Sungho’s friend. Aren’t you the co-host of the radio show with Jaehyun?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s kinda my side gig though, you feel me? Romance is more Jaehyun’s thing. I’m focused on trying to build my career as an amateur League of Legends streamer.”
Sunoo’s brow furrows. “Oh!”
“Where’s Sunghoon?” Riwoo has finished setting up his mat and senses the need for a topic change.
“He’s over there.” Sunoo points to a table on the side of the field covered by a large umbrella where Sunghoon is sitting, baseball cap and sunglasses on and reading a book.
“Oh my god! Vampire guy! I’ve seen him around campus,” Woonhak says. “My friends and I have a running bet if he’s actually a vampire or not. I'm honestly shocked to see him outside right now. It’s pretty bright out.” He turns to look at Sunoo. “Can you confirm or deny these vampire allegations?”
“Woonhak, you can’t ask people if their boyfriend is a vampire,” Riwoo says.
Sunoo shrugs. “I think vampires are sexy, sure.”
Woonhak fist pumps. “Leehan owes me money!”
The yoga class gets under way, and Jaehyun realizes that there is a lot more to yoga than laying on your back and doing breathing exercises. He’s working up a sweat and also trying to not trip and fall. He needs to look cool and athletic in front of Sungho, who is somehow executing every move with not a single hair out of place.
“What did you think?” Sungho turns to ask Jaehyun once the class is over, eyes hopeful.
“Super fun!” Jaehyun says, hopefully convincingly. “I didn’t realize that there were so many animals in yoga. Downward dog, cat, cow, pigeon…that last one was hard I’m not even going to lie."
Sungho giggles, covering his mouth. “That’s so funny. You’re right, I didn’t realize how many positions are named after animals.”
Jaehyun sees an opening. “Speaking of animals,” he says smoothly, “I heard that there was a new cat cafe that opened nearby. Would you like to go together? I know you’ve said that you miss your parents’ cat.”
“A cat cafe?! Oh my goodness I’d love to!” Sungho’s eyes sparkle.
“Great! Are you free Friday?”
Sungho nods and they discuss more details before Sungho is waved over by his fellow members of the student council. Before he walks away, Sungho pulls Jaehyun into a shy hug and says goodbye, and Jaehyun swears he’s never going to wash this shirt ever again.
“Are you finally going to ask him out?” A voice says, startling Jaehyun.
“Oh, hi, Sunghoon.” Jaehyun doesn’t know the last time he and Sunghoon had a conversation, let alone one about Sungho, but he doesn’t want Sunghoon to tell Sunoo who would tell Sungho that he was impolite. “Uh, yeah. We’re hanging out this Friday.”
Sunghoon nods approvingly. “You got this,” he says and stiffly pats Jaehyun’s shoulder before walking away.
“Dude!” Woonhak hisses, walking over to Jaehyun as he eyes Sunghoon. “I got confirmation-- he is a vampire!”
“Woonhak, vampires aren’t real.”
“I don’t know there’s something extra spooky about him.” Woonhak mutters. “Keep an eye out for any mysterious bites the next couple of weeks. I think he knows I’m onto him.”
_______
_______
A small detail that Jaehyun didn’t mention to Sungho is that he is allergic to cats. But that doesn’t matter, he’ll take some allergy meds and everything will be okay. That’s what he told himself.
Jaehyun wishes he could time travel and smack his past self because now he’s sitting in the cat cafe with red eyes and runny nose while Sungho stops to coo at every single cat. Jaehyun would be endeared except for the fact that he feels like he’s going to explode.
“Jaehyun, look! This one looks like Taesan.” Sungho points to a black cat sitting in the corner with an unimpressed look on its face.
“Aww, look! He’s purring,” Sungho coos at a calico cat that has cozied up to him, rubbing its head against his leg.
“Oh my goodness! Cat-shaped cookies,” Sungho says excitedly as he examines the bakery display case.
“So cute,” Jaehyun rasps out, rubbing his red eyes.
Sungho pauses and turns to look at Jaehyun, brow furrowed. “Jaehyun? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay!” Jaehyun says unconvincingly before leting out a massive sneeze he’s been holding in. “...I may be allergic to cats.”
Shock colors Sungho’s face. “Then why are we here? We can definitely leave, you poor thing.” He digs in his bag and pulls out a pack of tissues and starts fussing over Jaehyun.
“Well, you like cats. And I wanted to see you happy.”
Sungho takes a step back to look Jaehyun in the eye. “You took me to a cat cafe even though you’re allergic just because you know that it would make me happy?”
Jaehyun scratches the back of his head. “Uh, yes.”
The next second, Jaehyun feels his breath quickly release as Sungho grab tightly onto his collar and crushes their lips together.
Jaehyun sits for a beat, surprised, before he melts into the kiss, deepening it.
Sungho pulls back, cheeks tinged pink. “Wait, I’m reading this properly right?”
“Yes,” Jaehyun breathes, pulling him back into the kiss. “Oh my god, yes.”
“Wait, we’re making out in the middle of the cat cafe.” Sungho looks over his shoulder and sees the barista and other customers staring at them wide eyed. “We should leave before we get kicked out.”
The two of them quickly exit the cafe, heads bowed, giggling with their hands intertwined. They walk over to the nearby park and take a seat at the bench.
Jaehyun leans in to kiss Sungho gently on the cheek. “You don’t know how long I’ve been wanting to do that.”
“Wait, how long?”
“Since freshman year.”
“You’re joking,” Sungho responds. “I’ve had a crush on you for years, and I thought you’d never feel the same about me, and you’re telling me that you’ve liked me since freshman year?”
“I might of had an overly elaborate guide on how I was going to ask you out and it got kinda out of hand. Honestly, I think my friends were going to stage an uprising if I didn’t do something soon.”
Sungho rests his head on Jaehyun's shoulder. “We’re rather silly, aren’t we?”
“What makes you say that? Is it the fact that we had our first kiss at a cat cafe or that we both liked each other for years but were too shy to say anything?”
“All of the above. But I wouldn’t have it any other way because it was with you.”
“Does this mean I can call you my boyfriend?”
Sungho nods enthusiastically, and Jaehyun presses a kiss on his head. Now that the kiss floodgates have opened, there’s no stopping him.
The two of them sit on the park bench, cuddled in each other's arms, watching the sky melt from blue into a blend of orange and pink.
Like Leehan said, it’s the little things.