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“...and that’s why I can never go back to the Alpha Sig house ever again,” Jeonghan said, concluding his story with a flourish of his hand toward the other three sitting at the table.
“Hmm,” Junhui pretended to look pensive, “and here I was thinking it was because you boned at least two thirds of the guys there your softmore year.”
“Hey! You’re supposed to be defending my honour, not perpetuating lies! What kind of boyfriend are you?” Jeonghan turned to pout at the boy sitting beside him as Jun grinned at him innocently.
“I’m sorry, I know you’re a one man only kinda guy now,” Jun offered, placating but smug, and Jeonghan playfully punched him with cheeks blushing red.
“Yea, and sometimes I really second guess that decision,” Jeonghan muttered, Joshua and Seungcheol laughing under their breath at the ridiculous duo sitting across from them. Honestly, this was no different from the usual with those two, and they had learnt to just go along with their friends and the antics that made up their relationship. As the couple leant in to speak in more hushed voices, Joshua looked over to his own boyfriend and smiled knowingly, absent mindedly pushing his basket of fries toward Seungcheol. Seungcheol grinned at him in response and dove into the fries eagerly while Joshua just chuckled and patted his thigh.
A little while later, after Joshua’s fries were finished by Seungcheol and before Jeonghan could launch into another story from his self-proclaimed ‘bachelor days’, Jun took a look at his watch and announced, “Hey Cheol, if we don’t leave now, we’ll be late for class.”
Upon seeing the time himself, Seungcheol jumped out of his seat quickly, pulling out his wallet to pay for his and Joshua’s meals. “Are we still meeting up later?” Seungcheol asked Joshua as he put away his wallet and picked up his bag and keys.
“Of course,” came Joshua’s simple reply, along with a bright smile.
“Great!,” then he turned to Jun, who was standing now as well, “I’m gonna go get the car, I’ll meet you out front. Bye Jeonghan, bye Josh!” and with that he was out the door.
“Better not keep him waiting,” Jun mused, “Bye babe, love you” He leaned down to steal a quick kiss from his boyfriend and a small handful of fries from his plate.
“Hey!” Jeonghan called, but his laughter gave him away as Jun bolted for the door, throwing a “later, Jisoo!” behind him. Jeonghan smiled to himself for a moment before fixing his attention onto his best friend, who seemed to be checking something on his phone, “Josh, how long have you and Cheol been dating now?”
Joshua didn’t look up as he replied, “Hmm, about a year and a half now? You should know that.” Jeonghan merely hummed in response, and when nothing else was said after a while, Joshua looked up at him. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, knowing that his friend was holding back, “What is it, Jeonghan?”
He sighed and leaned in, lowering his voice as he said, “Do you ever worry about, I don’t know, things getting stale between you two? Like, losing the spark?” Joshua was confused, to say the least, and his face must’ve shown it. “I don’t mean to pry or anything, I’m saying this as your best friend. I noticed you and Cheol never really kiss or hold hands or say ‘I love you’ in public. Or really anything to indicate that you’re a couple.”
He couldn’t deny that there was startling truth in what Jeonghan was saying, but he didn’t want to start doubting the stability of his relationship. “Okay...? I don’t know, Cheol has never been the type for that kind of thing. Is something wrong with that?”
Jeonghan was quick to dispel the thought, not wanting to offend. “No! I’m not saying anything is wrong in your relationship. Just, maybe...maybe Seungcheol might need a little push to get him to be a bit more affectionate.”
Joshua sighed in resignation as his friend smirked and waggled his eyebrows. “Okay, so what’s your plan?”
~
Make him jealous. That was Jeonghan’s big plan, and now Joshua felt like a fool for agreeing to it. Especially now that he was curled up next to Jun on the couch in the library, both of them poring over an “I SPY” book while they were waiting on the rest of their group to arrive. While Jun was the one who found the book, Joshua was the one who made himself so comfortable, snug against his friend and leaning into the other’s personal space, knowing Seungcheol would be arriving at any moment. Jun was naturally a touchy person, and Joshua was glad he wouldn’t notice what was happening; Josh couldn’t deal with the potential embarrassment of being called out.
He was leaning over Jun and excitedly pointing at the item that he’d just found when Seungcheol appeared before them. “Well, you two look comfortable,” Cheol said, a small smirk gracing his features, causing Joshua and Jun to finally notice his presence.
A look of recognition dawned on Joshua’s face and he made no move to untangle himself from Jun as he replied, “Oh, Cheol, I didn’t see you there! You haven’t been standing there long, have you?”
Seungcheol quirked his head slightly in question at the pair before he answered, “No? I just got here a second ago.”
“Oh, okay,” Joshua said brightly before turning back to the book on Jun’s lap. Jun just shrugged at Seungcheol and followed Joshua’s lead, and Seungcheol said no more as he took up residence on one of the chairs facing them, pulling out a textbook from his bag to begin studying.
Now that Seungcheol was actually there, Joshua dropped his voice to a whisper, ensuring that his boyfriend couldn’t hear what they were talking about, even if it was just about the riddles in the book. He deliberately let his hands linger near Jun’s, his legs spilling slightly into his friend’s lap. Jun, unknowingly of course, played his part perfectly, matching Joshua’s soft whispers and draping his arm around him. Joshua kept glancing toward Cheol to see if he’d noticed, but he didn’t seem to have moved his eyes away from the text book once. Did none of this bother him? If Joshua couldn’t even command his attention, was there more truth to Jeonghan’s statement than he thought?
Joshua was looking over at Seungcheol and contemplating giving up for now, when Jeonghan finally arrived. Joshua saw him before anyone else and noticed how his eyes darted between the three of them, immediately assessing the situation. He gave Joshua a knowing look before announcing his presence. “No need to fear, Jeonghan is here!” he proclaimed, earning unimpressed looks from most people in the room. The other two looked up, happy to finally see him, but he only managed to smile at them and dump his books in Jun’s lap before he yanked Joshua out of his seat, “Jisoo, I need you to help me find a reference book one of my professors was talking about. We’ll be right back, boys!”
Before he could protest, Jeonghan dragged him over to the most deserted part of the library, making sure that no one was around. Then, Jeonghan put his hand on his hip and gave Joshua a pointed look, waiting for him to explain. “It’s not working,” Joshua all but whined, his lower lip sticking out in a pout.
Jeonghan shook his head at him in mock pity, “Now, while I don’t mind lending you my incredibly attractive and touchy-feely boyfriend to make your own, oblivious boyfriend jealous, I can’t help but see a flaw in this plan.” Joshua gave him an impatient look, his arms crossed waiting for his friend to further explain. “Cheol already knows Jun too well, they’re best friends. He knows you two are good friends and he knows Jun and I are happy together, so he’d never see Jun as a threat to his relationship with you.”
Joshua mouth formed a small ‘o’, because yes, that made a lot of sense. “Alright, you’re the mastermind, what should I do then?”
Jeonghan grinned mischievously, “You have to find a really hot person who Cheol isn’t very close to. Perhaps someone who has a habit of flirting with everyone who breathes.”
“How am I gonna find someone like that?” Joshua pleaded.
Jeonghan just shook his head again, leading his friend back to where the others were, “Don’t you worry, I have just the person.” Joshua was a little more than wary, but it seemed too late to back out now. When they re-emerged, they found the other two seated a table instead of the couches. “Couldn’t find the book, I’ll have to check somewhere else” Jeonghan explained as he plunked himself down next to Junhui.
Jun narrowed his eyes playfully, “Are you sure you two didn’t just go back there to sneak in a quickie?”
“And why would I tell you if we did?” Jeonghan replied nonchalantly, not even looking up as he pulled out his notebook.
Joshua noticed that his bag and his stack of books had been moved to the table, lined up neatly at the seat next to Seungcheol’s. As he sat down, he muttered, “Thanks for bringing over my books.”
“No problem,” Seungcheol replied, smiling, before going back to his work. If Jisoo scooted his chair a little closer to his boyfriend, no one noticed.
~
According to Jeonghan, “Phase II” of the plan would be executed on Friday night, during the party he and Joshua had been planning for the dorm where they were resident advisors. When Joshua himself was a first year, people hardly attended dorm events, but these days, the parties Jeonghan threw as RA could rival any frat on campus. That's why it was no surprise that almost the entire building was already packed into the lounge at 10:00pm, music blaring and drinks and snacks being passed around.
Although Seungcheol didn't live in the dorms, that had never stopped him from being there all the time anyway, so when he finally arrived at the party with Jun, Joshua was already waiting at the door with a drink for him. "Josh! Thanks!" Joshua didn't think the boy could get any more excitable, but then he took a sip from the drink, "Ah, this is my favourite! You know me so well."
Joshua smirked but couldn't help feeling endeared by his puppy of a boyfriend, "I mean after all this time, it'd be harder to find something I don't know about you."
"Who's to say? I could have deep dark secrets that I'm hiding..." Seungcheol quipped, but Joshua just laughed at the absurdity of the idea. Not with the way his mouth fell open in that lazy smile and his eyes shone so brightly. Everything about him was an open book, to Joshua at least. Seungcheol's smile softened and he dropped his voice, "Josh, you're staring."
"I'm-" before he could say anything to defend himself, Jeonghan called out to him from somewhere in the crowd. "Ah, duty calls," he said, not quite wanting to leave Cheol's side. Seungcheol shrugged and clinked his plastic cup against Joshua's, and then Joshua left to see what Jeonghan wanted.
The moment Jeonghan saw Joshua, he pulled him aside and spoke right into his ear, "The guy I wanted you to meet is right over there, the tall, dark and handsome one. So, I'll introduce you and then honestly you can just follow his lead." Joshua gave him a questioning look. "Never mind, you'll see. Just make sure Cheol is nearby. You ready?"
Without waiting for his response, he lead Joshua over to where the boy was standing, talking to a girl. "Excuse us," Jeonghan said, cutting off the girl mid-sentence."Joshua, I'd like you to meet Kim Mingyu, he's one of the newer residents here this semester. He’s a softmore, communications major and he lives on the second floor.”
It took Mingyu a second to react, seemingly caught off guard, but then a confident grin bloomed on his face. He reached out to shake Joshua’s hand, “Jeonghan, you forgot to mention my blood type, my GPA and my zodiac sign.” Then he looked straight at Joshua as he continued, “It’s Aries, for the record.” He winked and Joshua felt his face grow hot, the girl still standing there with a scowl on her face.
“Joshua is my fellow RA, so you can go to him as well if you ever need anything!” Jeonghan announced, and with that he made his escape, taking Mingyu’s previous conversation partner along with him.
“Ah, so there is another RA. Some of the new dormers were wondering if Jeonghan was making you up so he wouldn’t look sad and friendless,” Mingyu joked and Joshua couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Just because I exist doesn’t mean he isn’t sad and friendless,” Mingyu threw his head back, his shoulders shaking and his eyes almost squeezed shut as he let out a laugh that was loud and rich and really, a lot. Joshua felt himself blushing again, proud yet slightly flustered that he had drawn out a laugh like that.
Joshua quickly learnt that it wasn’t only Mingyu’s laugh that was a little overwhelming. Just like Jeonghan had said, he was a flirt by nature, giving compliments and innocent touches and meaningful looks without hesitation. But Joshua had also discovered Mingyu to be clever and funny, and he carried on the conversation so confidently and warmly that he made Joshua feel short of the breath the entire time they were talking; he almost forgot that he was meant to be making his boyfriend jealous. That is, until he saw Cheol across the room with a group of younger students.
“Either way, I think you’re very cool, Joshua, and very handsome too,” Mingyu admitted boldly, but at the same time, Cheol caught Joshua’s eye and sent him a small wave. “Joshua?”
Joshua turned his attention back to Mingyu, who was now leaning forward on his chair facing Joshua, oddly serious. “Sorry, Mingyu, I...” He hadn’t even realised they’d sat down.
Mingyu, however, had already followed his line of sight. “Oh, I see.” He looked at Joshua, searching his face. “Do you like him?”
Joshua held back a scoff and ended up smirking instead.“Something like that,” was his response. His eyes were still set on Seungcheol, who seemed to be coming their way now.
Mingyu grinned cheekily, “He’s a very lucky guy, then, to have all your attention like that.” As Seungcheol approached, Mingyu glanced between the two, his smile bright, patting Joshua’s leg and tossing out a quick, “See you around, Joshua!” before he disappeared.
“He seems like a nice kid,” Cheol prompts.
“Yea, he is,” Joshua muses, eyes following Mingyu for a moment then returning to Seungcheol. “Hey, do you wanna go for a walk?”
Joshua stands and he and Seungcheol make their way out, side by side, and Joshua’s heart rate finally begins to slow down.
~
By Monday, Joshua had pretty much concluded that his (Jeonghan’s) plan wasn’t going to work. He didn’t know if Seungcheol was too oblivious, or if he didn’t care, or if it were something else entirely, but trying to make him jealous only made Joshua feel stupid and childish. While he did still have his fears about their relationship and how distant Seungcheol seemed, he knew it was time to grow up and actually talk to Cheol about it. So, when Seungcheol appeared at the front desk of the dorm after class, he decided now was the time.
“Hey, cutie,” Joshua’s head shot up the moment he heard the endearment roll off his boyfriend’s tongue.
Joshua tried not to look as thrown as he was when he replied, slowly, “Hey, Cheol. I’m glad you’re here, I wanted to talk to you about something.” Seungcheol’s face darkened a bit and he only nodded, leaning against the desk and waiting for Joshua to continue.
Before he could, however, someone else showed up at the desk, a shy freshman Joshua knew as Hansol. “Hey Josh,” he started, speaking in English.
“Hey Hansol!” He looked up at Cheol, before telling him, “Go on ahead, I’ll meet up with you in just a minute.” He cracked a reassuring smile at Seungcheol, who mirrored the expression before heading down the hall to Joshua’s dorm. Then he turned back to Hansol, “What can I do for you, bro?”
“Oh, I just wanted to let you know I got that thing with my housing payments all sorted out! You really helped out so much.”
Joshua smiled up at the boy, happy to see him so much less stressed. “Well, that’s good to hear, I’m glad I could help! And how’s everything else? Classes, extra curriculars, Seungkwan?”
Hansol’s cheeks grew a little redder at that, but he also seemed more exuberant, “Classes are fine for now, some are really cool, I haven’t really looked into any clubs yet, and well, Seungkwan is Seungkwan. He’s diving into everything headfirst and I’m happy to be along for the ride,” Hansol had the look of a boy in love, and Joshua found it endearing. “And how’s your boyfriend doing?”
Joshua tried and failed to conceal his shock, “Wh-what? My boyfriend?” He’d only known Hansol a couple of weeks, and he was sure his relationship with Seungcheol had never been a topic of their conversation.
Hansol looked confused as he pointed to the spot where Seungcheol was standing only moments before, “Yea...Seungcheol?”
Joshua was trying hard not to stutter as he replied, suspicion colouring his tone, “How did you know he’s my boyfriend?”
Hansol laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, “Dude, basically everyone knows that you and Seungcheol are dating. It’s hard not to notice, with the way you always have these ridiculous heart eyes when you’re near each other.” He just shrugged, and offered a sly grin, “It’s actually really cute, Seungkwan says you two are relationship goals.”
Joshua couldn’t contain his laughter at that, throwing his head back. “Thanks, Hansol, I’m glad you think so.” Suddenly, Joshua felt like he couldn’t wait another moment to talk to Seungcheol, so he promised Hansol they would catch up more another time and said goodbye before rushing over to his dorm room.
As soon as Joshua opened the door, Seungcheol’s gaze lifted, smiling at Joshua as he put down his phone and reached out a hand to him. “There you are,” he chimed, as Joshua placed his hand in his, keeping it there as he walked around to sit next to Cheol on the bed. “So, you said you wanted to talk?” Joshua was hesitant, and Seungcheol picked up on it, “Is something wrong? Is it why you’ve been acting a little strange this past week?”
Seungcheol’s words caught Joshua’s attention, leaving him slightly confused, a frequent occurrence recently. “Wait, what? I’ve been acting strange?”
Seungcheol made sure he chose his words wisely when he explained, “You’ve been a little, all over the place, I guess? One minute you’re being distant and distracted and the other you’re kind of, I don’t know how else to say this...you’re being really extra.”
Joshua let out a little chuckle, but it didn’t hide his nervousness. “You’re not wrong,” he admitted, “I may have been acting differently, and something has kind of been bothering me lately.” Cheol didn’t say anything, but the look in his eyes encouraged Joshua. “I’d sort of noticed that we don’t really show affection or skinship in public, and I was worried that it meant we were losing our spark.” Joshua felt kind of silly now, repeating the words Jeonghan had said, but he didn’t stop. “And, well, Jeonghan suggested that a good way to see if it were still there would be to try to make you jealous. I went along with it for a little bit, but I didn’t like it, and it didn’t seem to be affecting you, so I stopped.”
Suddenly, everything clicked for Seungcheol. “Ah, so is that what you were doing with Jun and with that softmore at the party?” he asked, his tone gentle and without a hint of accusation.
Joshua nodded slowly, “So you did notice. I thought, when you didn’t seem to react, I thought maybe Jeonghan was right, maybe something is wrong.”
“Oh, Jisoo,” Seungcheol shook his head, the corners of his lips turned up slightly. He shifted, sitting cross legged on the bed so that his entire body was facing Joshua, holding his boyfriend’s hand between both of his. “Of course I noticed. I didn’t know if I should bring it up or not, but you should know, I always notice when something’s up with you. I’m your boyfriend, it’s kind of on my job description.” They both smiled, and some of Joshua’s reservations melted away, but Seungcheol wasn’t done yet. “But it didn’t really make me jealous, no. And that’s not because I don’t care about you; it’s quite the opposite actually.” Seungcheol swallowed before continuing, “Jisoo, I love you, and you have all of my attention. And from what I can tell, and I’m usually right about these things, I have all of your attention as well.” Joshua gave a tiny smile; it was the same thing Mingyu had said.
“You do,” Joshua whispered. He didn’t have to say it, but it made Seungcheol grin, so he was glad he did.
“So then, it’s no surprise that the idea of you willingly ditching me for some other guy doesn’t really get to me, hmm?” Cheol brought Joshua’s hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss there, causing Joshua to break into a full smile. Cheol in turn, cracked a crooked grin, “Besides, we don’t need something as boring as jealousy to keep our relationship spicy.”
Joshua’s smile didn’t falter as he raised his free hand to frame Cheol’s face, brushing his thumb against his boyfriend’s flushed cheek. “Cheol, you are so good to me. The relationship that I have with you is one of the best and surest things in my life, and I never should’ve doubted it, or you, for that matter. I’ve realised now that our relationship is between you and me, and whatever we make of it is ours, regardless of how everyone else does things. And in my opinion, it’s perfect.”
Seungcheol’s blush grew, and Joshua could feel his face heating up as well, ducking his face in so that his forehead was pressed against Cheol’s. “Thank you for talking to me about this, it makes me happy to know you can tell me these things.” His voice was soft and his breath tickled Joshua’s nose.
“Choi Seungcheol, you are a great friend and an amazing boyfriend. I trust you and I love you,” and with that Joshua closed the small distance between them to touch his lips to Cheol’s gently.
When they pulled away, they both felt remarkably lighter. Seungcheol took one of Joshua’s hands in each of his and intertwined their fingers, playing with them gently; he smirked to himself for a moment before looking up at Joshua again. “I just can’t believe you thought we weren’t affectionate in public,” he said, smiling so wide his eyes almost disappeared, “The number of people I don’t even know who’ve asked me about you...I think everyone on campus knows we’re dating. People even have a couple name for us, Cheolsoo!” He tried to keep back his laughter but failed. “Could you imagine adding frequent skinship to that? It would be an uproar!”
“Whatever, Seungcheol,” Joshua smiled and shook his head, untangling himself from Seungcheol and standing up. “I left my books at the front desk, I’m gonna go grab them quick.”
Joshua left the room with the traces of a smile still on his face, as he manoeuvred the now crowded hallway, since classes were finished. He had almost made it to the desk, already catching Jeonghan’s eye, when he heard Seungcheol call out behind him. “Jisoo, wait!” he half yelled, and Jisoo stopped and turned, giving Cheol the chance to catch him. He felt a hand in his and Cheol’s voice dropped to a whisper only Joshua could decipher. “Do you want to see them lose their minds?”
He smirked briefly before pulling Joshua’s face to his, their lips connecting and their bodies flush against each other. Joshua couldn’t help but feel it was a little dramatic, the way Cheol’s hands held him at the neck and his own grabbing tight on Seungcheol’s tshirt as they kissed until Joshua’s lungs screamed and his head felt dizzy, his heartbeat pounding in his ears as everyone around them burst into cheers.