Chapter Text
Harua’s mother taught him the golden rule of dating before he even hit the second grade.
At the ripe age of seven, he snuck into his mom’s room after having a nightmare. She was watching some romcom, and he had watched more than what he should’ve before she noticed him at the foot of her bed. At that point, it was much too late to rescue him from the so-not-first-grade-friendly content, so she snuggled up beside him and they watched the rest of the movie together.
But his first grade brain couldn’t comprehend why the main character gave up the cuter one — the charming one — for the person who was a human equivalent to a yawn. Like, how did that even make any sense?
Yep, he’d missed the entire point of the movie and had fallen in love with the playboy. And to this day, Harua can still remember his mom’s voice and the refreshing smell of her perfume as she played cars with him and set him straight.
”Charm and intrigue can only get you so far, Rua. Those things disappear, which is why you never, ever choose the bad boy.”
After that, they shared so many more memories of romantic movies. It was how they spent time together.
Which, in hindsight, is probably why he’s been waiting for his special moment since he was old enough to spell “love”.
And then she died, and she left to him her belief of happily ever after. His inheritance was the knowledge that love is always in the air, always a possibility, and always worth it.
Mr. Right — the nice guy, dependable version — could be waiting around the very next corner.
Which is why he is always at the ready.
It was only a matter of time before it happened to him.
. . .
The day started as usual.
Sunlight streamed through Harua’s window as the shrill sound of his alarm jolted him awake.
Sleepily, Harua got out of bed, pushing the blanket back with his feet and dangling his legs over the side of his bed.
He didn’t have many clothes, at least besides the uniform he had to wear to school everyday, so choosing his outfit was an easy task every morning. He quickly got dressed, adjusting his tie and jacket when he went into the bathroom.
As Harua brushed his teeth, he scrolled a little bit through his social media. He didn’t normally do this; he wasn’t a very social guy. But something about the day felt different.
His friends — Taki, Jo, and Yuma — had all texted him. Being Harua, he didn’t respond.
Harua gathered all of his school stuff and headed out his door. He walked straight past the kitchen, skipping breakfast as he normally does. No one was there to remind him anyways.
Since Harua lived in a small town, the neighborhood he lived in had houses all bunched up together. So, Harua lived next to the same people his whole life.
Taki, his next door neighbor on the left side, was quick to befriend Harua when they were kids. One day, Harua was reading on the back porch, and Taki yelled at him to come play in the backyard. Harua was bored, so of course he did. Taki asked him what his favorite color was, and Harua said it was purple. Taki called him weird. From that day forward, they were best friends.
And then Taki made some friends of his own, Yuma and Jo, and they all got along great together when they weren’t arguing. Although, Harua is pretty sure that Yuma and Jo were dating. He didn’t know for sure.
And then there was Maki. Harua’s annoying next door neighbor (on the right side) who never stopped pestering him.
Maki was the type of kid who put a frog in the girl’s dollhouses during recess, and the type of kid who liked to tease Harua like it was a 8-figure job he was being payed for.
Unfortunately for Harua, he was Maki’s prime target throughout their childhood. Even as teenagers, Maki never backed down when it came to messing with Harua. Maki liked to ruffle Harua’s hair, pull his backpack back when Harua was walking — making him trip — and the thing that annoyed Maki the most: stealing the Spot.
You see, the Spot was the parking spot in front of Harua’s house. it was easy for Harua to park there so the walk from his car to his house would be short. But ever since Maki got his car, he started parking there. Harua was sure Maki only did it to spite him, since the driveway in Maki’s front yard had enough space to fit Maki’s grandmother’s car, as well as his own.
But no.
Maki chose to park in Harua’s parking spot.
And it annoyed the hell out of Harua. So many days of yelling at Maki to move his car and racing to get to the Spot first before he did.
Some days it worked, and most days it didn’t.
Like today, for example. Harua had parked his car in the Spot last night, and when he walked out of the door, Maki was on top of Harua’s car.
”Hey!” Harua yelled, basically running to Maki.
“Get off my car.”
Maki jumped off and held his hands up in mock innocence, though the smirk said otherwise. Besides, Harua has known him since they were kids; the boy had never been innocent a day in his life.
”What’s that in your hand?”
“Nothing.” He put the hand in question behind his back.
”You’re so paranoid.” he said.
Harua stepped in front of him and squinted up at his face. Maki had one of those ‘naughty-boy’ faces. Mischievous eyes with a never-wavering smirk. Even though he had grown a lot taller since they were kids and maybe sorta got a little hot, he was still the immature Maki who liked to throw mud at Harua when it was raining.
“What did you do to my car?” Harua asked, poking Maki in the chest.
Maki laughed, throwing his head back with his mouth open and everything.
That cannot be a good sign.
“I didn’t do anything to your car, per se.”
When Maki looked at Harua again, his grin grew wider.
“Per se?”
”Woah, watch your dirty mouth, Shigeta.”
Harua rolled his eyes, which resulted in Maki’s mouth to slide into a smirk.
”You did something to my car, didn’t you?”
“Maybe. Have a good day at school! Hope you drive safe,” Maki said, and the smirk on his face grew, meaning that Harua would most definitely not have a safe drive or a good day at school.
Maki walked to his own car, opening his door and putting the keys in ignition. He waved at Harua with a grin on his face.
Harua glared at Maki until he drove away, pissed off, knowing there’s 100% going to be something he has to clean up.
God, Harua hated him.
As Harua walked cautiously to his car, he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
A moving truck, coming straight into the culdesac where he lived. As far as Harua knew, the only empty house was Nicholas’s.
The thought of someone moving into his forever crush’s home made him sad.
He pushed that thought down and focused on his own car. He walked around to the driver’s side, not yet seeing anything damaging. But, knowing Maki, anything could happen.
As he opened the driver’s door and sat down, he noticed clear packing tape on his windshield.
A lot of it, to be exact. About enough to cover the whole window.
How had he not noticed it before?
Harua groaned, knowing he was going to be late, and that it was all Maki’s fault.
. . .
After successfully scraping all the tape off of his windshield (which took ages, by the way), Harua somehow managed to get to school on time.
He was still extremely pissed off at Maki, but he decided to ignore it. There was a very important test coming up, and Harua knew he had to study like hell if he wanted to pass.
Harua was a nerd, to say the least. He knew everything about everything, even stupid things that stuck with him like movie plots and book lines from things he’d watched and read years ago. Studying was an easy way for Harua to get his mind off things, so he did it a lot.
And then, middle school happened. When Harua started 6th grade, his mother passed away. He went into a depression, crying every night and not talking to anyone for weeks at a time. His dad wasn’t much help either. His mother’s death took a huge toll on his father, and he often stayed overtime at work as an excuse to avoid being home. Harua didn’t get much attention from his dad after that.
So, as a form of entertainment, Harua studied and learned so much that he was ahead of everyone his grade. He knew so many things that weren’t very common for a tiny 11-year-old to know.
Meaning, Harua was lonely.
And when his crush since forever moved away in the middle of the year in 7th grade, Harua’s heart broke for good.
Overall, Harua didn’t have the very best childhood.
Walking to his first period, Harua pulled his airpods out of his bag and stuffed them in his ear, turning the volume on his music up all the way. Harua didn’t have a very wide range of music taste, but there were a few songs that he did like.
He walked past bodies of students and pushed his way through the couples hogging the hallway. He was starting to get annoyed, and it didn’t help that he was already pissed off from this morning.
Eventually, he got to his class, pulling his airpods out and putting them away, knowing he’d get in trouble if he got caught using them during lessons. He sat down between Taki and Byun Euijoo.
As soon as he sat down, Taki turned around to face him.
“Did you see my text I sent you?” Taki asked.
Ah, right. The text that Harua decided to ignore this morning. Looking back, he wished he had just opened it. It would’ve been better than Taki being disappointed with him.
“Um, no. I didn’t. I’m sorry, I have do not disturb on most times,” Harua said, the lie rolling off his tongue like it was natural. He didn’t normally lie to his friends, and he didn’t know why he lied now, but he didn’t feel like telling the truth.
Taki gave him a look of doubt. Most people would shrug it off and continue the conversation, but not Taki. He could basically see through Harua’s soul. It was kind of scary.
“Just look at it later, yeah? It’s something important.” Taki countered, turning back around. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a piece of scratch paper, handing it to Harua.
Harua nodded absentmindedly as he grabbed the paper from Taki, setting it down and scribbling on the corners of it.
His gaze drifted from the paper to Euijoo.
If surveyed, everyone on the planet would unanimously agree that he was beautiful; it was an indisputable fact. He had a waist so slim that most girls at their school were jealous. His brown hair was so shiny and soft and always looked like it belonged on a shampoo commercial. His eyes were gorgeous; wide, but not too wide. A perfect mix, making him look innocent and kind.
Harua disliked him very much.
On the first day of kindergarten, Euijoo had yelled Ewwww when Harua got a bloody nose, pointing at his face until the entire class gawked at him in disgust. In third grade, he’d told Nishimura Riki that Harua’s notebook was full of love notes about him. (He’d been right, but that wasn’t the point.) Euijoo had blabbed to Ni-ki, and instead of being sweet and charming like the movies had led Harua to believe, Ni-ki just called him a weirdo.
And in sixth grade, not long after Harua’s mom died and he’d been forced to sit by Euijoo in the cafeteria due to assigned seating, every day as he picked at his barely edible lunch, Euijoo would unzip his lunchbox and wow the entire table with food his mother had made just for him.
Little sandwiches cut out in cute shapes, snacks decorated with rainbow frosting and delectable seasonings.
But then there was the notes.
There wasn’t a single day that Euijoo’s lunch didn’t include a handwritten note from his mom. They were funny, cute little letters that Euijoo used to read aloud to his friends, and if Harua allowed his snooping eye to stray to the bottom, where it said “Love, Mom” in cute cursive with hearts around it, he would get so sad that he couldn’t even eat.
Everyone thought Euijoo was great and gorgeous and smart, but Harua knew the truth. Euijoo may pretend to be nice, but for as long as Harua could remember, there was not a singe moment where Euijoo had been nice to him.
The teacher walked in and began the lesson, so Harua scrambled to sit up and take notes.
His eye caught on Beomgyu, one of his old situationships. Beomgyu smiled and tilted his chin down like a nod. Harua liked Beomgyu. He was nice. Even though they didn’t work out, like every one else Harua had dated, Beomgyu was never mean to Harua about it. In fact, Harua might even consider them friends.
That was the thing about Harua. All of his relationships lasted no longer than two weeks. It led him to believe that maybe he was just unlovable. But mostly it was the guys who made Harua want to leave. Two weeks was a perfect amount of time to get to know someone, and Harua almost always got the Ick by then. No one ever satisfied the standard he had set up for his future boyfriend. He wanted someone who made his heart flutter, who made his breath catch in his chest. Someone who made his heart stop when they got close. Someone who he enjoys kissing, or even more than that.
Yeah, he was never going to find someone with those qualifications.
After a long and dreadful class period, Harua managed to make it to his locker, which Taki had somehow already been waiting at.
Taki looked excited. He was fidgeting with his hands, moving from his pockets to the collar of his uniform. Of course, it caught Harua’s attention.
“You’re excited. What for?” Harua asked, stuffing his books into his locker and (for some reason) checking his reflection in the mirror he put in his locker. A good thing, too. His hair was all ruffled and sticking up in odd places. He flattened it down immediately, slightly pushing his bangs out of his eyes.
Taki grinned. “Oh my god, I have news and you’re never gonna believe it-“
But Harua blocked out the rest of Taki’s sentence. Because someone he knew all too well was walking down the hallway; walking to him.
Nicholas.
Nicholas Wang, the boy Harua has had a crush on since forever.
Harua’s Nicholas.
And he was walking straight to him.
Nicholas had that unmistakable grin on his face, lighting up his features that Harua once adored when they were younger. He still looked perfect as ever, his hair ruffled and his glasses sliding down his nose
Nicholas walked up to Harua, still smiling.
“Harua, you’ve grown up!” Nicholas says as he reaches him, and Harua nods as Nicholas pulls him into a hug, his heart racing too fast and his palms sweaty. His neck and ears were surely red; Harua felt the heat climbing up his neck.
Taki didn’t say anything, his mouth in a taut line. His eyes were glancing between Harua and Nicholas as if he knew what Harua felt. Knowing Taki, he probably did.
Harua couldn’t speak. His tongue felt numb and his teeth too heavy in his mouth. Nicholas tilted his head, waiting for Harua to say something. As soon as Harua got the courage to speak, someone crashed into him from behind, breaking his hug with Nicholas.
It was Maki.
“Maki! Watch where you’re walking, please.” It was meant to be threatening, but Harua was grinning so hard he knew he just looked ridiculous.
Maki’s features pulled into confusion, like he didn’t know what to say. “Um..yeah sure. Sorry.” He switched his attention from Harua to Nicholas.
Maki was grinning, his eyes lighting up when he saw Nicholas. “Nicholas, my man! How’s your first day been?” He dabs Nicholas up, adding a little extra movement, like a secret handshake. Harua wondered when they had time to come up with it.
Maki’s gaze landed on Harua again, and his grin somehow spreading even larger. “So, Harua. How was your drive to school?”
Harua rolled his eyes, but he didn’t want to give Maki the satisfaction of knowing that his drive was, in fact, terrible and he may or may not have ripped multiple of his nails trying to get the tape off. “Really great — thank you for asking.”
“Maki, you were right on about the biology teacher.” Nicholas said, his gaze falling onto Maki, a smile evident on his face. Harua adored it.
“It’s because you sat by me. She haaaaates me.” Maki grinned and started talking, but Harua ignored him and focused on Nicholas. The way he laughed and smiled, the hair his hair almost touched his shoulders. He was as charming as Harua remembered.
Taki, who Harua had momentarily forgotten in the presence of Nicholas, nudged Harua with his elbow and whispered, “Settle down. You’re drooling all over yourself.”
Harua rolled his eyes and ignored him.
“Hey, listen.” Maki leaned against the lockers and pointed to Nicholas. “Remember Sim Jaeyun?”
Nicholas smiled, adjusting the straps of his backpack. “Of course. Vice captain of the basketball team, right?”
“Exactly.” Maki lowered his voice. “Jake’s having a party tomorrow at his dad’s—you should totally come.”
Harua tried to keep a neutral face as he listened to the details of the party. Maki and Nicholas used to hang out all the time when they were kids, but still. They were best friends all of a sudden?
That couldn’t be good for Harua.
“Sounds good,” Nicholas said with a nod.
Maki looks at the clock on the wall. “I’ll text you the details later. I gotta go— If I’m late to my next class, I’ve got detention for sure.” Maki turned and started jogging in the other direction with a yell of “Later, guys.”
Nicholas watched him leave, and then his attention focused back on Harua. He smiled but stayed silent, as if waiting for Harua to say something. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything, so he used his silence as an excuse to stare at Nicholas.
“Uh-“ he started eventually.
Nicholas suddenly looked down at the watch on his wrist that Harua hadn’t noticed earlier. “Shit, I’ve got to run too. I can’t wait to catch up, though!”
Nicholas looked up, his gaze catching on Taki, whom Harua had, once again, forgotten.
“Taki? Is that you?” he asked, and his mouth dropped.
Taki rolled his eyes, but even then he still smiled. “Took you long enough.”
Taki had always been closer with the neighborhood boys, playing football with Nicholas and Maki while Harua sat on the deck and read a book. Since then, he’d grown exceptionally, and he’d turn into a freakishly good-looking human.
The bell rang, and Nicholas pointed to the speakers. “That’s me. See you guys later.”
He went the other way, and Harua and Taki started walking. “I can’t believe Maki didn’t invite us to the party.”
Taki gave him a side-eye. “Do you even know who Jake is?”
“No, but that’s beside the point. He invited Nicholas right in front of us. It’s common courtesy that he should invite us too.”
“But you hate Maki.”
“So?”
“So why would you want him to invite you anywhere?”
Harua sighed. “His rudeness just pisses me off.”
“Well, I, for one, am glad he didn’t, because I don’t want to go to any party that those guys are having. I’ve been to Jake’s, and I can confirm it’s all about beer pong and immature shit like never-have-I-ever.”
“But-“
“Listen.” Taki stopped walking and grabbed Harua by the shoulders to stop him from walking too. “That’s what I was going to tell you. Yuma says he lives right next door to Euijoo, and they’ve been talking for a couple weeks now.”
“Euijoo? Byun Euijoo?” No way.
“But he just got here-“
“Apparently he moved back a month ago and has been doing online school. Rumor has it, him and Euijoo are almost official.”
Harua’s stomach dropped. The thought of Euijoo and Nicholas together, Euijoo with that irritatingly skinny waist, made Harua’s heart hurt.
Euijoo always got everything he ever wanted. But not this time. Harua would make sure of it.
Not only would they be a better match, Harua and Nicholas have history. Days they spent outside together, playing in the dirt and running around, screaming and laughing.
Harua thought back to the last time he saw Nicholas. It had been at Nicholas’s house. His family had planned a goodbye cookout, inviting all the neighborhood friends. All the kids played kickball in the street for hours, and even the parents had joined the game. After the game was done, Nicholas went around and offered everyone drinks.
Harua’s mom said it was the cutest thing she ever saw.
Nicholas definitely didn’t know how much Harua doted on him.
Taki looked at Harua like he knew exactly what Harua was thinking.
“Listen, Nicholas Wang is not your ‘run to each other and kiss in the rain’ dude, got it?
But he could be.
“Well, technically they aren’t official yet..”
They started walking again, dodging bodies as they went to Taki’s locker. They were definitely going to be late because of their hallway meet-up with Nicholas, but it would totally be worth it.
“Seriously. Don’t be that guy. That little thing with Nicholas was not your meet-cute.”
“But… what if it was?” Harua almost squealed saying it out loud.
“Oh my god, I knew the second you found out you’d go crazy. You don’t even know the guy anymore, Harua.”
Harua could still hear Nicholas saying his name, and his stomach dipped. “I know everything I need to know.”
Taki sighed and pulled out his books. “Is there anything I can say to pull you back from this?”
Harua tilted his head. “Um..he hates pink?”
Taki held up a finger. “That’s right—I forgot. He hates pink.”
Harua grinned. “He does not. He says pink is not a ‘girly’ color and thinks it’s ‘manly’ to like it. He used to wear pink socks to school every day as a sort of ‘protest’ against social norms. You should’ve seen him, it was ridiculous.”
“Oh, that’s..gross.” Taki said, his nose scrunching in disgust.
“Whatever, pink hater.” Harua said, pushing off the locker he had been leaning on. He felt alive with all the possible romantic encounters buzzing through his mind. “Nicholas Wang is free game until I hear an official proclamation.”
Taki sighed and pulled his phone out. “I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.”
“What? Happy? Excited? Hopeful?”
“Delusional.”
“Oh, hush. Just be happy for me, okay? You know how much I like him.”
“When you get your heart broken, don’t come crying to me about him, yeah? He’s not worth it.” Taki said, pointing his phone at Harua.
“Alright, fine. I understand.”
Harua was going to charm Nicholas into falling for him. Just you wait.