Work Text:
One.
"Yah Yeon Sieun, you came!" Baku's voice boomed through the small barbecue restaurant where Sieun's friends were crowded around a table. Baku was beaming at Sieun, his arm waving over his head. On the other side of the table, Juntae was laughing at their friend's antics as Gotak tried to quiet Baku, and Suho smiled over at Sieun. Sieun made his way over quickly from the door, and sat between Baku and Suho in the chair that had been left for him.
Sieun had come over to the restaurant right after his last lecture of the day. He had a lot of material to study since he had some tests coming up, but his friends had almost begged him to come after he had hidden away in his apartment for the past week.
"Sieun-ah," Sieun looked up at Juntae as he started speaking. Juntae's eyes analysed him. "You look tired, have you been sleeping well?"
Sieun looked down to hide a small smile at the warm feeling of being cared for. "Mn," he breathed in response, and the others left the matter there.
Suho began loading food onto Sieun's plate as Sieun took of his coat and draped it over the back of his chair. When he deemed that Sieun's plate had enough food on it, — more than enough if you asked Sieun — Suho slid it closer toward him, muttering "there, eat" by his ear, too quiet for the others to hear. As Sieun took his first bite, letting out a hum of approval, he saw Suho smile briefly at him before returning to his own meal.
Sieun quickly got lost in the taste of the meat, along with the background noise of the chaotic restaurant and his friends' gentle chatter. Halfway through one of his bites, Baku started insistently tapping Sieun's arm where it rested on the table. "Are you hearing this Sieun-ah?" He stared wide-eyed at Sieun, searching for backup.
Sieun blinked at Baku, lost. He hadn't been paying attention to the conversations going on around him.
"Were you even listening?" Baku's expression shifted to offence, as he kept staring at Sieun, waiting for an answer. Sieun blinked again and shook his head. Baku gasped and clutched at his heart, as Suho chuckled gently next to him. Sieun turned to Suho for help.
"Gotak said that Baku's gonna do even worse in his exams than I will this year. Baku clearly disagrees," he explained.
"Yah! Of course I disagree!" Baku cut in, drawing Sieun's attention once again. "Suho missed over a year of school — I'm way smarter than he is!" Sieun physically drew back at the mention of Suho's coma, looking back down at his food. Suho noticed and softly petted a hand through his hair before defending himself.
"We're not in high school anymore idiot, it's a clean slate. It doesn't matter what I missed. Plus, you probably missed more with how little you pay attention." Gotak and Juntae chuckled at the response as Baku tapped on Sieun again for a defence.
Sieun looked back up at Baku with a glare. "Suho-yah is going to get really good grades this year. He's been studying a lot." It wasn't entirely a lie, Suho had been spending more time studying with Sieun recently, but if Sieun was being honest he wasn't holding his breath for Suho's results after their exams. That wouldn't stop him from coming to Suho's defence though. Obviously.
Baku's jaw dropped dramatically as he looked between Suho and Sieun, blinking rapidly. "Sieun-ah, you won't even defend hyung?" As he spoke, he reached across the table in an attempt to ruffle Sieun's hair, but Sieun ducked out of the way and scrunched his eyebrows together at Baku.
Suddenly a chunk of lettuce hit Baku in the face. "Who says you're his hyung?" Suho exclaimed, jutting his chin out at Baku. Sieun rolled his eyes at the pair's antics, going back to eating.
Later that night, the group were getting ready to leave to go home. As everyone was saying their goodbyes, Baku tried again to ruffle Sieun's hair, who once again moved to avoid it.
Suho smiled at Sieun, his eyes crinkling at the corners, as he watched him avoid the contact. "You hate people touching your head that much Sieunnie?" He asked as he also lifted an arm to rub a hand through his hair. Instead of moving away, Sieun simply closed his eyes and stayed in place.
Baku let out an indignant screech. Sieun opened his eyes and saw his friend pointing affrontedly at him and Suho. Sieun tilted his head in question. "How come you always let Suho touch you but not the rest of us?" He was pouting at the end of his sentence, his shoulders slumped in an exaggerated display. From his place by Sieun's side, Suho stuck his tongue out.
Sieun opened his mouth to give a retort, something about how he and Suho just had a different kind of bond than Sieun had with the others, but before he could get a word out, Gotak had already latched onto Baku's arm as he dragged him and Juntae away, complaining about being tired and wanting to go to bed.
As they walked away, Sieun could see Baku turn back to him and Suho with wide eyes, before he whipped his head back to face Gotak, who was nodding at him.
Sieun felt an arm settle around his shoulders, and turned to see Suho's hand resting there. "What was that?" Sieun asked. Suho just huffed in amusement before the pair started walking back to Sieun's apartment.
Two.
On the lead up to their mid-year exams, Juntae decided everyone should have a group study session at Sieun's apartment.
When Sieun had questioned why they couldn't have it somewhere else, Jun explained that Sieun's mother's apartment was the biggest in their group so it just made sense. When Sieun asked why they couldn't study at the library, Baku had scoffed and told Sieun that there were no TVs at the library.
Thinking back, Sieun should have been able to predict that the 'study session' would end up like this — with Sieun on the floor surrounded by books and notes, while Baku, Gotak, and Juntae spread themselves out across the sofas, engrossed in some movie one of them had put on. Sieun couldn't wait for Suho to finish his shift.
"Sieun-ah, here have some food," Juntae waved some chicken in front of Sieun's face, who batted him away.
"Not hungry," he mumbled in reply. His first exam was the next week and he needed to be as prepared as possible.
Gotak sighed loudly from the sofa. "Sieun," he scolded, "you've been studying non-stop for hours. You should at least take a break for a few minutes."
"Can't," Sieun replied. As much as he appreciated his friends looking out for him, he really needed to focus on his notes to get the points fully into his head. At the silence that followed, Sieun spared a glance at the others and tried to get them to back off. "I'm fine." He continued working.
What felt like only a few minutes later, Sieun was even deeper in his studying, if that was possible, when he heard the front door open and close. He glanced up as Suho walked into the room, collapsing onto a free seat, before returning to his studying again.
He heard low murmuring between the others, but couldn't find it in himself to bother pricking his ears up. The next moment, his shoulder was being shaken.
"Hm?" Still, he kept his focus on his notes.
"Yah, Yeon Sieun. Look at me." Finally Sieun raised his attention to the room. Suho was kneeling next to him on the floor with his hand still on Sieun's shoulder, being careful to avoid crumpling the papers around them. Sieun stared at him and blinked in question. "Sieun-ah, did you really not eat? You've been studying this long?" Suho was frowning, and Sieun almost felt guilty.
"It hasn't been that long, they're exaggerating," Sieun explained, assuming the others had snitched to Suho.
Distantly, Sieun heard Gotak cough out, "three hours," as Suho raised a brow at him. Sieun looked away.
Suho quickly reached over and grabbed a piece of chicken, before pushing it towards Sieun's lips. Sieun stared at it, then back at Suho defiantly. "Eat." Sieun kept his lips firmly closed, refusing to give. "Now, Sieun." At Suho's tone, Sieun eventually bit down on the chicken, avoiding eye contact.
"Huh?" Sieun glanced over at Juntae. "Sieun-ah, I tried to feed you earlier and you didn't let me," he whined. Sieun only shrugged as he continued to chew, then swallow, before Suho shoved the chicken back for him to take another bite.
Sieun's attention was brought back to Suho as he stroked a hand through Sieun's hair. "You can take a break for thirty minutes Sieunnie," he said softly, giving Sieun his best puppy eyes. Sieun moved to pick up his papers again, but Suho cut in once more. "You're probably burnt out now anyway, you'll be more productive if you take a break with us."
Knowing his friends, if Sieun took a break now, he wouldn't be able to pick up his studying again tonight. "I'm in a rhythm."
"Please?" Sieun rolled his eyes, but stood up at Suho's words, moving toward the space next to where Suho had settled earlier. He nestled into the corner of the sofa as Suho reclined in the space beside him.
From the other sofa, Sieun heard Baku scoff "of course you listen when Suho tells you." Sieun looked over, confused, as Gotak smacked Baku's arm. Did Baku really expect Sieun to be able to refuse Suho? The same Suho who had marched into countless fights to defend Sieun? Suho who, in their final year of high school, in the run-up to their final exams, had memorised Sieun's exact schedule down to the minute so he could bring him food and snack deliveries, and who showed up at his apartment past midnight and dragged Sieun to bed when he had been prepared to study right up until the next morning? Sieun couldn't see a world where that was possible.
For the rest of the evening, Sieun relaxed into the sofa, and into Suho's steady warmth beside him, as Suho continuously pressed mouthfuls of chicken to his lips, occasionally stealing one for himself. Sieun took the offer every time.
His notes lay untouched on the living room floor for the whole night.
Three
Sieun packed up his bag as his morning lecture was dismissed, getting ready to meet his friends in the cafeteria for lunch. He neatly stuffed his notebook, pens, and handouts into his backpack, before lifting his jacket and shoving his arms through the sleeves.
Well, technically Suho's jacket, but Sieun didn't really care for the semantics.
Suho had left his red and black windbreaker in Sieun's room days ago after he stayed over, and hadn't brought it up since. Really it was his fault for being so disinterested in his belongings that Sieun was now burying his nose into the collar, trying to get a stronger whiff of Suho.
The group met for lunch at the university cafeteria most weekdays — except Thursdays where only Gotak had classes on-campus. As usual, Sieun was the third to arrive at their table, after setting some food on a tray, walking up to Gotak and Juntae animatedly discussing something as they looked at Jun's phone.
They looked up at him as he sat down across from them. "Sieun-ah, did you see the new-" Juntae glanced down at Sieun's torso. "What are you wearing?"
Sieun stared back at him. "What do you mean?"
Gotak started laughing, startling Sieun's attention away from Juntae."Is that Suho's jacket?"
Flustered, Sieun tried to come up with an excuse. Realising he didn't have one, he decided to plead ignorance. "Ah, is it?" he asked, looking down at the offending item to hide his reddening cheeks.
Gotak's laughter grew louder, attracting the attention of some people at nearby tables. Sieun glared at him to be quiet. "Are you really trying to convince us that you, Yeon Sieun, don't recognise the clothes Suho wears almost every time we see him?".
Sieun avoided eye contact. "I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered. As he took a bite of his lunch, Juntae caught his eye and smiled brightly. Sieun stared at him, waiting for more input, but nothing came.
"Anyway," Sieun breathed an internal sigh of relief at the change of subject, "Sieun-ah did you see that the new season of that show we watched last month is coming out soon?" Sieun let out a noise to show he hadn't. "Yeah, it should be only a few months. There's actually an actor I really like in it and-"
Sieun let Juntae's excited words wash over him as he followed along with his friend's rambling, his mind quickly taken off of their earlier conversation.
Baku arrived, as he usually did, some time after the trio. His class finished at the same time as Sieun's, but he always walked a longer route to 'get his steps in', as he put it.
Baku strolled up to the table and dropped his tray down carelessly. "Ah, my dear friends, I missed you so much!" He emphasised his words by trapping Gotak in a headlock and rubbing his hand aggressively through his hair.
"Yah, get off of me you oaf!" Gotak shoved Baku back, leaning closer to Juntae to avoid the boy's reach.
Baku barked out a laugh. "You love me, don't even try to lie Go Hyuntak," he scoffed as he sat down next to Sieun, showing mercy for the time being. Gotak grew suspiciously quiet at his words.
As Baku turned his head to Sieun, probably about to go on yet another minutes-long rant about each and every time a drunk Gotak had ever shown affection toward him, he paused, his eyes growing wide. Sieun's face began to grow red again, realising what Baku must have noticed. Baku trailed his eyes from Sieun's face, down to 'his' jacket, and back up again.
He squinted his eyes, then pointed at the windbreaker. "New jacket Sieunnie?" The smirk on his face left no room for Sieun to believe the question was genuine. He stayed silent, turning his face away from Baku and stuffing his mouth with rice. Baku huffed. "You guys are really rubbing this in now, huh?"
Sieun reluctantly looked back at his friend, confused. Rubbing what in? Was Baku upset that Suho had stayed at Sieun's apartment without the rest of them? But their friends already knew that Suho and Sieun had extra hangouts sometimes, just the two of them. And Baku didn't look mad. Then, what?
Still thinking over Baku's words, Sieun subconsciously burrowed further into the jacket. The three around him awed at him, alerting Sieun to his actions as he grew embarrassed and had to fight himself from hiding even more into the comfort of the jacket's embrace in response.
As Sieun tried to fight off his blush once again, Baku reached over to pinch his cheek, but was swatted away by Sieun. "Cute, Sieun-ah!" he still cooed in his face.
Suho arrived even later than Baku, but with the excuse of his class running on longer than normal. As he approached his seat next to Sieun, he immediately noticed Sieun's outfit, along with the redness on his cheeks.
He put an arm around Sieun's shoulders and smiled as he sat down. "Hm, Sieunnie, you should wear my clothes more often. They look good on you."
Four
Sieun didn't know how he ended up here, packed into the living room in some frat house, people pressing against him on all sides. Baku had shoved some kind of drink into his hand earlier, and Sieun was starting to feel its effects now, his eyelids drooping slightly and the sounds around him growing muffled.
"Guys!" Speaking of Baku, he ran up to the rest of the group excitedly, almost jumping in place. "The beer pong table's free," he continued, Gotak groaning in response.
"You don't think you've drank enough?" he asked. "It's a wonder you're still upright." A soft giggle bubbled up out of Sieun.
"What are you laughing at Yeon Sieun, you're hardly holding up better than me!" Baku accused, before he turned around and began stumbling over to the beer pong, clearly expecting the others to follow him. Reluctantly, they did, Sieun following close behind Suho, occasionally gripping onto his sleeve so he didn't get stuck in the crowd of people.
"We should play three against two," Gotak suggested once they reached the table. Since Sieun and Juntae were the least experienced with games like this, the group decided they should play together with one of the others. Suho was quick to offer himself as their teammate, accompanied by a smirk from Gotak.
"What are you smirking at, Go Hyuntak?" he asked, raising his brows. "Just you wait, we're gonna kick your asses." Sieun didn't want to disagree with Suho, but he was not nearly as confident in their team's ability. Especially with his drink from earlier still making his body feel slightly out of touch from himself.
It quickly became apparent that Sieun was right — their team was struggling compared to Baku and Gotak. Despite Baku being by far the drunkest of the group, he seemed to have had a lot of practice playing games like this in this condition. Paired with Sieun's clumsy movements, and Juntae's horrible aim, they never really had a chance.
Thankfully, Suho didn't seem that put-out at his teammates dragging him down, laughing loudly whenever one of their throws went particularly wrong, and cheering when Baku or Gotak had to drink. He had also been sneaking some of Sieun's drinks when the others weren't paying attention, aware that Sieun was already pretty drunk. When the others were more focussed, and Sieun had to down his own cups, he always felt Suho's gentle hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles over his shirt.
Sieun must have spoken too soon, as one of Baku's throws missed the table completely, and the group watched the ball bounce over to the far corner of the room before Gotak turned to his teammate and started yelling at him. He was waving his arms around animatedly, gesturing over at the other side of the table occasionally.
Sieun couldn't hear any of Gotak's words over the loud music and the pounding in his head, but he could imagine the gist of it.
"Well," Suho's voice sounded from Sieun's right, "I guess that's the end of that." He set down his paddle and grabbed a water bottle that Sieun hadn't noticed he must have set down earlier, offering it to Sieun. "Here, you should drink some water, you've been drinking kind of a lot," he explained softly next to Sieun's ear.
"So have you, hyung," Sieun scrunched his face up. Suho's head tilted as he smiled and once again pushed the bottle into Sieun's hands, who finally took it and began to drink.
"Can I have some too?" Juntae's voice startled Sieun, who had momentarily forgotten that the other boy was still with them. Sieun hummed and handed over the water. Sieun felt Suho's hand squeeze his shoulder, and a soft smile found its home on his face.
"Uh.. Ahn Suho?" The hand dropped as Suho turned to face the new presence next to them. A girl was standing slightly off to the side of the trio, her hands clutching a cup of something in front of her.
"Hm?" Suho hummed, his face twisting as he tried to place her. "Yeah, that's me. You're… Naeun, right?" The girl's face lit up in a smile, clearly happy to be recognised so easily. She nodded at Suho, eyes locked on his.
Sieun reached up to grip Suho's sleeve, tugging on it a few times to get his attention. "Who is it?" he asked, trying to ignore the faint whine colouring his words.
Suho turned to face him partially. "Ah, this is Naeun, we have some classes together," he explained, before turning back to her. "Anyway, did you need something?" Sieun pouted at being ignored. Suho always gave him his full attention, their friends constantly brought up how annoying it was that they often struggled to have conversations with Suho if Sieun was nearby. What was so special about Naeun that Suho would rather direct his attention at her than at Sieun?
The girl blushed slightly, looking down. "Ah, I just saw you over here and wanted to come talk to you. I don't think we've ever spoken outside of classes." She laughed nervously, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Suho laughed back, and Sieun fought the urge to drag him away. Instead, he shifted his grip from the sleeve of Suho's shirt to his arm. He noticed Naeun's eyes flicking down to their contact, a question in her eyes, but she didn't voice it yet.
"Hah, yeah I guess not," Suho's voice trailed off as he lifted his free arm to rub the back of his neck.
Sensing his awkwardness, Naeun tried once more. "Do you want to go get a drink? My cup's almost empty, and it looks like you're all out?" She looked up at him with big eyes, blinking slowly, and Sieun gripped tighter onto Suho's arm, his nails almost digging into skin.
Suho placed his other hand over Sieun's, his thumb rubbing circles over his knuckles. "Oh, sorry, I came here with people. I don't want to leave them."
Finally, Naeun's eyes moved to Sieun's face, considering him. "Sorry," she started, "I didn't get your name."
As Sieun was about to answer her, Suho moved their joined arms over Sieun's head to rest on his shoulder, pulling him in closer. "This is my Sieunnie," he answered for him, his other hand coming up to pinch Sieun's cheek, whose face erupted in a warm blush.
Naeun's eyes went wide, something like recognition flashing in them — at what, Sieun wasn't quite sure. "Oh!" she exclaimed, her eyes darting between them. "I didn't realise, I'm sorry." Sieun didn't know what she had realised all of a sudden, but he certainly wasn't complaining when she smiled at them one last time before turning around and leaving. He let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Sieun-ah," next to him, Juntae had a fond smile on his face. "Come on, you know Suho only has eyes for you." He accompanied his words with a huffed out laugh and a shake of his head.
Before Sieun could question what he meant by that, Suho spoke up again. "Yah, are those two really still fighting?"
Sure enough, when Sieun turned to find their other friends, he saw them still arguing with each other, further away from the ping pong table now as another group played a game.
Sieun let himself nestle further into Suho as the arm around his shoulders tightened.
Five
Finally, exams were over and Sieun could breathe again. As expected, he had gotten the highest mark in each of his classes, and his friends demanded they have a movie night to celebrate.
That was how Sieun found himself wedged between Suho and Gotak on one of the sofas, Baku and Juntae laying across the other, as some dumb horror movie played on the TV in front of them.
Every now and then, a jump scare on the screen would cause Suho to angle his body towards Sieun, and curl inward. Sieun definitely didn't find it unreasonably cute.
At one particularly loud moment, Gotak almost jumped off the couch, spilling his bowl of popcorn all over the floor. Sieun stood from the couch and grabbed the dustpan to clean it up. When he was finished, Suho and Gotak were closer together on the sofa, meaning Sieun had to sit half on top of Suho's legs. He huffed in irritation, but it was short-lived as Suho began tracing gentle shapes with his fingers on his thigh.
Later, when they had finished two more movies, and the moon had already passed over their heads, they decided to sort out sleeping arrangements since Sieun wouldn't let any of them leave this late anyway.
Baku and Gotak were happy to sprawl out on a sofa each, and Sieun had a fold-out mattress that he brought into the room for Juntae, along with a few blankets and one of his plushies.
"What about Suho?" Juntae questioned, motioning around the room that didn't really have anywhere else for someone to sleep, unless Suho wanted to sleep on the floor.
Baku scoffed, "what do you mean? Suho will sleep in Sieun's bed with him, no?"
Sieun blinked, confused, at Baku. Yes, normally when Suho stayed at Sieun's apartment, they did both sleep in Sieun's bed, but how would Baku know that? "Hm? Who told you that?" he asked.
Baku raised his eyebrows, a knowing smirk on his face. "What, am I wrong?" Sieun looked away in defeat.
"Be serious Sieun, where else would Suho sleep?" Gotak laughed, arranging himself a makeshift bed on the sofa.
He had a point, if both of the sofas and the fold-out mattress were taken, it made sense that the others would naturally assume the only place left for Suho would be to share Sieun's bed.
"Hm," he breathed out. "Anyway, goodnight." With that, he led Suho away from the living room and into his bedroom.
"Sieun-ah, can I borrow some clothes? mine are uncomfortable to sleep in."
Sieun thought for a second. "I don't think I really have anything that would fit you, but you can look if you want."
Suho smiled brightly at him, making Sieun's stomach flip. Sieun grabbed his regular sleep clothes and began changing as Suho rummaged around his wardrobe for anything oversized. He ended up finding a shirt he had left there at some point, along with a pair of soft shorts that ended up being a tad too small on him, hugging his thighs.
"Better hyung?" Sieun mumbled, keeping his eyes on Suho's face.
"Better, thanks Sieunnie."
Sieun crawled into the bed first, moving blankets and extra pillows out of their way, before turning back to Suho who followed him in. They settled in their usual position, with Sieun's head resting against Suho's chest, and Suho's arm around his shoulders, carding fingers through his hair. Already, Sieun could feel himself being lulled into a deep sleep.
"'Night Sieunnie," Suho mumbled sleepily, his lips faintly touching the top of Sieun's head as they moved.
"Goodnight Suho-yah."
+ One
Baku waved aggressively as Sieun walked out of the university and began walking over to him. They were the only two with the rest of the afternoon free, and Baku had decided they should go for a walk since Sieun really needed to 'get outside more instead of being hunched over a desk all day'. Sieun held back a retort about how Baku could do with some time spent at a desk, since he was barely passing most of his classes and failing the rest.
"Ready to go?" Baku asked as Sieun came to a stop in front of him. Sieun stared up at him and blinked.
"Are we really going to?" He really would rather go back to his apartment and get a head start on his essay.
Baku grabbed his wrist and started dragging him away before Sieun could protest more. "Yes, really Sieunnie. What, you're just gonna make hyung walk around on his own?" he pouted. Sieun scoffed — like Baku didn't do that anyway.
They made it barely a few steps away before someone was running up behind them.
"Sieun! Yeon Sieun!" They called. Sieun turned his head slowly to see a boy that he vaguely recognised as being in one of his classes, although he had no idea of his name.
"Yes." Sieun replied.
"Yah, Sieun-ah, don't be so rude to your classmates!" Sieun glared up at his friend, before returning his gaze to the boy, questioning.
"Ah, sorry, I'm Choi Daehyun, we have a class together this semester," he said, pointing at himself and grinning. Sieun only nodded. "…Right, I just wanted to, um, ask you something?" He glanced nervously at Baku, who had lost interest in the conversation and was watching the other people leaving the building.
"Hm," Sieun hummed. "Go on."
Daehyun's eyes flicked to Baku again before his smile grew awkward and he lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Could we… Could we go somewhere quieter?" His voice softened as he spoke, but Sieun stiffened. Why did he want to get him away from Baku?
Sieun's face scrunched up as he averted his eyed from Daehyun. "No," he muttered, about to get Baku's attention again so they could leave.
"Wait, sorry! It's fine, I can ask here." Daehyun's face was growing more red by the second, and he was bouncing on his feet.
Sieun turned back to face him again, looking up blankly at him as Daehyun determinedly maintained eye contact.
"I… Um… I was just wondering if you're single?" The words came out so quickly that Sieun almost missed them. Baku certainly didn't, as Sieun saw his head whip back to their conversation in his peripheral vision.
Sieun's eyebrows drew together, confused. Why would that be Daehyun's question? And why was he so clearly nervous to ask? Sieun was obviously single, it didn't take a genius to figure it out.
"Yes," he replied, his voice betraying his confusion.
Daehyun's eyes lit up as his smile grew more confident again. Really, what was going on here? "Really," he asked, his eyebrows lifting as he stared at Sieun with what could only be described as hope in his eyes. Weird. When Sieun once again nodded, Daehyun breathed a sigh of relief. "Then, could I have your number?" He was already reaching for his phone.
Still, Sieun didn't understand the situation. "What? Why?"
Daehyun let out a soft laugh. "Why? I just think you're cute Sieun. I want to take you on a date."
Sieun drew back, finally understanding. He wasn't used to positive attention, spending most of high school being bullied or preoccupied with gangs, so he didn't know yet how to recognise it. He also just didn't really understand why anyone would be attracted to him — it's not like he was anything special, and he spent most of his time locked away studying. Hardly boyfriend material.
"Sorry, I'm not interested," Sieun muttered. He turned and walked away, leaving Daehyun behind as he called out to him, confused.
"Yah, Yeon Sieun! Why did you do that?" Baku whacked his arm.
"What? Told him I'm not interested? Because I'm not."
Baku rolled his eyes. "Aish! No, obviously I would hope you'd tell him you're not interested Sieun! I meant why did you tell him you're single?You'd break Suho's heart if he heard that."
Sieun stopped in his tracks, causing Baku to stop a few paces ahead of him before turning back to face him. "Why would Suho care?"
Baku's eyes went wide as he stared in silence for a few seconds. "You're asking me why your boyfriend would care that you told a guy — who was clearly interested in you, by the way — that you're single?!" Baku's voice was getting louder, and Sieun had to keep looking around to check that others weren't trying to listen in.
When Baku's words landed in Sieun's head, his heart skipped a beat. "What are you talking about? What boyfriend?"
"What boyfriend? Suho obviously, I hope you don't have another one!"
Sieun thought his legs might give out from under him."Suho isn't my boyfriend." What cruel joke was the universe playing on him right now? Ahn Suho would never be interested in Yeon Sieun — not like that.
Baku started walking again as Sieun stayed with his feet planted on the floor. "Hah, sure Sieun," he scoffed.
Sieun didn't understand. Why would Baku come to that conclusion? Obviously Suho and Sieun weren't dating. "Who even told you that?" Sieun caught back up with Baku as they continued walking.
"Gotak," he replied. "But, it's not really a secret Sieun-ah, sorry if it was supposed to be." Sieun wondered what that was supposed to mean. How could something be a secret if it wasn't even true? "I think pretty much everyone already knows — except that guy from earlier I guess. I mean, you guys aren't exactly subtle." Baku smirked at Sieun as he nudged him repeatedly.
Subtle about what? What on earth had given Gotak and Baku — and apparently everyone else — the impression that Suho and Sieun were dating?
That evening, Suho was dropping Sieun off at his apartment after Sieun had spent a few hours studying at the restaurant where Suho worked.
"Do you want to come in for a bit?" he asked, looking up and blinking at Suho as he opened his front door.
A soft smile overtook Suho's face. "Of course, Sieunnie."
They took their shoes off at the door and made their way into Sieun's room, settling next to each other against the headboard of the bed. As they got comfortable, Sieun couldn't get his mind off his conversation with Baku from earlier that day. Surely Sieun should let Suho know that people were saying this about them? He would probably be uncomfortable with it and would want to know about it. Maybe this was why Suho never seemed to be dating anyone — if everyone assumed he was already taken, of course no one would bother to ask him out. It was the only thing that made sense — after all, what other reason could there be for someone like Suho to not have an unlimited supply of potential partners?
He decided he had to bring it up, even if it would be an awkward conversation, so that Suho could set the record straight to everyone. It wasn't fair to him to leave him in the dark.
"You know," Sieun began quietly, not wanting to disrupt the atmosphere of the room. "Baku was saying weird things earlier."
Suho chuckled next to him. "When is Baku not saying weird things Sieunnie?" Sieun huffed, amused.
"Right. But this time was extra weird." At this, Suho lifted his full attention to Sieun, twisting his body slightly to face him.
"Extra weird?" he questioned. "Is something wrong?"
Sieun took in a deep breath. "You don't… You wouldn't care if I told someone I'm single, right?" His voice was barely audible in the quiet room, but Suho clearly heard him. Suho's head tilted, as his eyebrows scrunched together and his eyes squinted, clearly confused. Sieun rushed to explain, "Sorry, I know that's a weird question, I wouldn't have asked it's just… Baku was saying earlier about how everyone thinks that we're-"
"Sieun," Suho cut off Sieun's panicked rambling, his tone firm. "Why would you tell anyone that you're single?" he asked, shaking his head a little.
Sieun didn't understand the question. "Just… if they ask." When else?
Suho huffed, looking annoyed, as he darted his eyes away and then back to Sieun. "If someone asks you if you're single, you'd say yes?"
Sieun would really appreciate some help understanding this situation. What did Suho want him to tell people? "What else would I tell them?"
"'What else would you-'" Suho cut himself off, rubbing a hand down his face. "Tell them that you're not!" he exclaimed, looking Sieun in the eye again.
"Why would I tell them that?"
"Because you're not!"
Sieun paused. "I'm not?" What did that mean? Sieun was pretty sure he'd know if he wasn't single.
Suho stared at Sieun in disbelief, letting the silence sit for a few moments before he spoke. "Yeon Sieun." Sieun hummed in response. "Did you really not know that we're dating?"
Sieun gaped, his mouth parting as a soft sound escaped him. "We're dating?"
Suho closed his eyes as he sank back onto the bed, covering his face with an arm over it. Underneath, Sieun could see a faint blush peeking out. Suho let out a deep breath. "I guess not. Sorry, Sieun-ah, I thought we were on the same page."
Sieun didn't understand what was happening. Was he being broken up with without even realising he had a boyfriend in the first place? "How… How was I supposed to know that?" Sieun tried to move Suho's arm to get him to look at him again. "We never spoke about that."
Suho finally let Sieun lift his arm, and looked him straight in the eye. "Didn't we?" He tilted his head before breathing out a quiet laugh. "I guess we didn't. That's my fault Sieun-ah, sorry for assuming."
Sieun hummed and nodded. He wasn't upset — just confused. Or, maybe upset too, if Suho really was breaking up with him right now. Was that even possible? He laid down next to Suho. "It's okay, but… You didn't really act like we were dating."
Suho drew back, offended. "Yah, what do you mean I didn't act like we were dating? What else was I acting like?" Suho started counting things off on his fingers. "I always drive you around no matter the time, I leave my clothes here for you to wear, I'm always touching you, I don't let you call anyone else 'hyung', I sleep in your bed with you every time I stay over here," he dropped his hands and looked expectantly at Sieun. "What else was that supposed to mean?"
Sieun though about it. "I guess you're right," he admitted. "I guess I just don't know what dating someone really looks like, since I've never done it before. Plus, you always did all of that stuff with me, so how was I supposed to notice a change?"
Suho immediately averted his eyes as a deep flush settled on his face. Sieun studied him for a moment, before sitting up and nudging Suho's shoulder.
"Suho-yah." Suho hesitantly met his eyes again at Sieun's soft tone. "How long were we dating for?" If it was possible, Suho's flush somehow got even brighter. Sieun snorted.
Suho's expression turned pitiful, shining eyes staring up at Sieun as his eyebrows arched upward and his bottom lip jutted out in a pout. "You think this is funny? This is worse than getting broken up with!" he whined as he dramatically flopped his head to the side, his arm returning to it's place over his head. "Can't you just pretend to break up with me now so I can pretend that this conversation never happened?"
Sieun giggled, drawing Suho's eyes back to him. He hid his smile in Suho's shoulder. "Why would I do that?"
"So cruel Sieun-ah!" Sieun's heart grew warm at the thought of Suho having been his boyfriend for all this time. He couldn't believe he hadn't known before, but he definitely wasn't going to give it up now.
He lifted his head from Suho's shoulder before he spoke. "Who says I want to break up?"
Suho's head whipped around faster than Sieun thought possible. "You don't?" His eyes were wide with hope, and Sieun's smile grew wider at the sight.
He stroked a hand through Suho's hair, who leaned into the touch. "Just because I didn't realise that we were dating before, doesn't mean I didn't like it."
"Aish, Sieunnie!" Suho exclaimed, tucking his head into Sieun's legs. "You're going to give me a heart attack at this rate. Say that sooner next time!"
Sieun giggled again. "Next time? I hope we don't have another conversation like this."
Suho sat up at that, looking at Sieun intensely. "To be clear, we're dating now right? Like, really this time?"
Sieun felt like he couldn't contain all the fondness he felt inside of himself. "Yes, Suho-yah. We're dating." Sieun leaned forward and brushed his lips against Suho's, hesitantly, as if waiting for permission. Suho responded eagerly, pressing his mouth against Sieun's, moving their lips against each other's like a starved man.
Suho's hands trailed up Sieun's arms and down his sides, coming to a rest on his hips, as Sieun looped his arms around Suho's neck, pulling him closer. Suho tilted his head to the side to deepen the kiss, and Sieun let him in easily, their tongues brushing against each other. One of Suho's hands began caressing Sieun's side and Sieun bit down in surprise, accidentally biting Suho's bottom lip. He licked over it in apology.
Eventually, they had to break for air. When they did, Sieun realised he had another question. "Wait, Suho-yah." As usual, Sieun had Suho's full attention. "Why did you think we never kissed before? If we were dating?"
Suho smiled at him again. "I know you don't really like people touching you, I just thought you didn't like kissing. I didn't want to push your boundaries too much." He rested a hand on Sieun's cheek, swiping his thumb back and forth.
Sieun closed his eyes and sank into the contact. "I like it," he breathed. "If it's you, I like it."