Chapter Text
It was a year before graduating high school. It was autumn outside, a slightly cold wind was blowing. Nicholas sat through his last lesson of the day in the back of the classroom, as always, staring out of the open window, watching a group of friends laughing while fresh air brushed against his face. He wasn’t listening to the teacher because he was thinking about his future- college, more specifically.
He wanted to attend an art college. Since he was a kid, he’d always liked art, photography to be exact, but he’d lost his passion for it for quite a while. It happened around the time his parents were going through divorce, and he slowly lost interest in everything. During that time, he always spent his days with his best friend.
Right now, he was studying at a secondary grammar school. Because he always had good grades, his parents wanted him to continue studying— doctor, lawyer, or maybe some kind of businessman. Sometimes they pressured him about school. Nicholas loved them, even if their concern always seemed louder than their affection.
He started liking photography again a few years ago, and the reason was kind of his best friend, Euijoo. He sometimes joked about Euijoo being his muse— because thanks to him, he found passion in something he couldn’t figure out before.
But the thing was, Euijoo planned to continue his studies at an economics college. Don’t get him wrong- the schools were in the same town, so it wasn’t like they’d be separated- but Nicholas probably wouldn’t see him every day like he did now.
Nicholas and Euijoo had been friends since elementary school. They’d known each other for over a decade, but only now was Nicholas starting to realize how precious of a friend Euijoo truly is. He knew literally everything about him: his likes and dislikes, the fact that he couldn’t drink coffee, that his favorite fruit was strawberries, that he had trouble waking up in the morning because he stayed up too late.
His train of thought was interrupted by the ringing bell.
“Class is over, Nico. Were you seriously daydreaming all this time?” Euijoo chuckled, already sitting right beside him.
“Sorry,” Nicholas answered, rubbing the back of his neck in slight embarrassment. “I guess I spaced out for a moment.”
“Let’s head home,” he added.
Nicholas slowed slightly as they left the classroom, catching the late afternoon light spilling through the trees. The colors were warm— amber, gold, the kind that begged to be captured in a photo. He could almost see the perfect shot framed in his mind, but his camera sat heavy in his bag, untouched. Lately, he only felt the urge to pull it out when Euijoo was nearby, as if something about him made even ordinary moments worth holding onto.
He glanced at Euijoo, humming softly along to the music in their shared headphones, shoulders relaxed, eyes bright. The sight made Nicholas’ chest tighten— not in a bad way, but in the kind of ache that made him want to linger here, in this quiet bubble between the world and home.
Home. The thought brought a small knot to his stomach. He knew what waited for him there- questions about grades, sighs over college applications, the invisible weight of disappointment that sometimes fell like a shadow. His father barely noticed the direction his life had taken, and his mother reminded him, yet again, of the path she thought as the best. Nicholas often felt small, unseen.
And yet here, walking beside Euijoo, he felt something entirely different— relief, warmth, a simple sense of belonging. He didn’t have to justify anything, didn’t have to explain his passions or ambitions or fears. He could just exist, and Euijoo would still be there, steady and easy, as if presence alone were enough.
Nicholas let out a soft sigh he didn’t realize he’d been holding. The tension in his shoulders eased slightly, though the echo of his worries followed him like a shadow. Still, for these few blocks, he let himself savor the light in Euijoo’s smile, the rhythm of their steps in sync, the quiet intimacy that required no words.
*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*
Euijoo always walked Nico home since he lived near the school. Even though Euijoo’s house was a few streets away, he always made sure to walk Nico home anyway.
Nico found this gesture really sweet. Sometimes he felt like a burden, because it was always Euijoo walking him home and not the other way around, but whenever he tried to complain, Euijoo brushed it off. I just want to spend more time with you, he’d say. And Nico would just nod, letting the conversation move on, even tho later he would overthink every word.
Just wants to spend more time with me. The thought makes his chest feel warm and a little guilty, too. Euijoo never makes him feel like a burden. If anything, Nico worries he’s the one taking too much. Soon, they won’t have this— the walks home, the easy excuse of another day together. The thought makes something tighten in his chest, and he walks a little closer without realizing.
As they walked quietly, sharing headphones like they sometimes did, Euijoo suddenly spoke up.
“If I fail math, I’m actually done for,” Euijoo muttered.
Nicholas laughed. “You say that every time.”
“Yeah, but this time I mean it.”
Nicholas hesitated. “I could help. If you want.”
“Really? Wouldn’t it bother you?” Euijoo asked.
Nicholas smiled. “What are you saying? Of course not, Juju. You’re my friend. I can’t let you fail— who am I supposed to go to prom with then?” he joked, then added more seriously, “You always do so much for me, Euijoo. You literally walk me home every day. This is the least I can do for you.”
Euijoo smiled, looking at Nico, who was already smiling back.
A few minutes later, they reached Nico’s house. Nico handed Euijoo back his headphone, and they shared a small side hug to say goodbye.
“Thank you again for being my tutor, starting tomorrow!” Euijoo called out.
Nicholas laughed. “You better start calling me teach then,” he shouted back before stepping through the front door.
*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*
The next morning, Nico walked into class, backpack slung over one shoulder. The memory of yesterday’s walk lingered in his mind— the shared headphones, the quiet laughter, the way Euijoo had never made him feel like a burden. For a moment, he wished he could hold onto that feeling a little longer.
Euijoo waved him over, dropping a juice box onto his desk like he always knew exactly what he needed.
Nico smiled, still feeling the warmth of yesterday, and said, “Thanks...”
“It’s your favourite flavour,” Euijoo said, smirking.
Nicholas blinked, a bit surprised. He froze for a moment, unable to take his eyes off Euijoo’s smile, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight streaming through the classroom windows.
Suddenly a voice broke through: “Hey, Nicholas, are you coming with us after school? We’re going to grab bubble tea," Maki—one of his classmates called, leaning over his desk.
Nico opened his mouth to answer, but Euijoo was faster.
“He can’t. We already have plans.”
The words were sharper than usual, and Nico felt a small jolt in his chest. He sounded...different, somehow. Is he mad or am I imagining things?
“We...do?” he asked, blinking.
Euijoo shrugged, stabbing his straw into the juice box. “Yeah. You promised to help me with math after school. Can’t let me fail, can you?”
Nico blinked, realization dawning, and then laughed softly. “Right... tutoring. How could I forget? Yeah, sorry guys, maybe next time.” Oh... he’s mad because I forgot about the tutoring. That makes sense. He pushed the other, more ridiculous possibilities out of his mind before they could take hold.
They walked together to the nearby bus stop, the autumn air crisp around them. Nico’s fingers brushed against Euijoo’s as they shared headphones again, and for a moment he caught the faintest spark of warmth from yesterday’s walk.
They laughed quietly over a video Nico was showing him, but he couldn’t shake the tiny jolt in his chest from earlier. Euijoo seemed...a little different today, just enough that Nico found himself smiling nervously, wondering why it mattered so much.
The bus ride to Euijoo’s house is quiet, the kind of silence only old friends can share. The buss smelled of dust— small particles visibly flew in the space, and it was almost completely empty. Nicholas’ eyelids grow heavy and tiredness take over him as the city passes by in blurs of light. While Nico is trying not to fall asleep Euijoo is looking outside the window, eyes skimming through the streets. When the bus turns a corner, Nicos head slips sideways, landing gently on Euijoo’s shoulder. Euijoo doesn’t mind Nicholas laying on him, it’s not like it never happened before anyway, he just smiles lightly at the reflection of snoring Nico in the window. He turns his head and replaces Nico a bit higher to make him more comfortable, he also moves him because his cold earrings were tingling Euijoo’s uncovered skin near his collar bone.
Nicholas wakes up at the movement tho Euijoo doesn’t notice it. He’s a bit surprised at the proximity and he means to move, he really does, but Euijoo is warm and steady beside him. The moment he nuzzles his head against him just like a tired cat he catches a faint scent— light but piercing. Sweet yet refreshing. A mixture of vanilla and citrus. For a second, the rumble of the bus, the chatter of strangers, everything fades.
Does he have cologne on? Nicholas wonders. The thought that he’s never smelled anything better crosses his mind, and his stomach turns upside down. For a moment, he wants to lean into Euijoo’s neck, to brush his nose against his skin just to breathe in more of that mesmerizing scent.
“Oh, you’re up?” Euijoo whispers as the bus slows. “We’re almost there.”
Nicholas sits up too quickly, his face hot. “Yeah. Sorry.”
He brushes the moment off as just tiredness, a lack of sleep, nothing more.
When they arrive at Euijoo’s house, they head straight to his room to study.
“Sit wherever you want, you know your way around,” Euijoo smiles, gesturing to the small, cluttered desk and the beanbag in the corner.
“Do you want something to drink?” Euijoo asks, while Nicholas is glancing around at the room, noticing the posters, the stack of notebooks, and the little photo Euijoo keeps on his shelf.
“Nah, I’m good,” he answers, but Euijoo brings two glasses of water anyway, setting one carefully beside Nicholas.
“It’s just habit,” Euijoo says, grinning. “I can’t stand seeing you dehydrated. You’ll turn into a raisin before you know it.”
Nicholas chuckles, shaking his head. “I think I’ve survived this long, haven’t I? Besides, you already bought me a juice at school, technically, I’m not dehydrated.”
“Barely,” Euijoo teases, nudging him lightly with his elbow. “Also, don’t tell me you’ve been skipping breakfast again. That’s a crime against mornings.”
“I did have toast,” Nicholas protests, holding up his hand.
“Just toast? Alone? That’s tragic. You need at least two slices with jam or something that actually gives you energy. You can’t go around teaching me math on an empty stomach.”
Nicholas laughs, unable to hide his amusement. “You really care about this, don’t you?”
“I care about you,” Euijoo says lightly, as if that’s the most obvious thing in the world. Then he grins, covering it quickly with a cough. “I mean... your health. Yes, your health. Definitely your health.”
Nicholas shakes his head, smiling despite himself. “Right, sure. Health.”
Euijoo plops down on the floor beside the desk and looks up at him expectantly. “So, where should we start, teach?”
Nicholas freezes for a brief second, surprised. And if he’s being honest, he really wants to hear him say that again. The nickname lingers in the air, and the small smile Euijoo flashes him is enough to make the world feel lighter for just a moment.
He starts tutoring Euijoo, explaining how to solve some math formulas. Euijoo watches him with a piercing gaze, unable to take his eyes off Nicholas. He’s always thought Nicholas is handsome, but now, seeing him look so focused and confident while explaining everything, it catches his attention completely. Euijoo leans a little forward, elbows resting on his knees, hands loosely clasped, as if the slight movement might make him absorb the formulas better.
“Hey, are you listening?” Nicholas asks with a raised eyebrow.
Euijoo moves a bit closer without thinking. It’s almost instinctive. He tilts his head slightly, hair brushing his shoulder, and laughs.
“To be honest, not really. I can’t focus. I have zero clue what you were talking about.”
Nicholas smiles back at him, and the scent hits him again— that beautiful scent, the same mixture of vanilla and citrus he’d wanted to drown in during the bus ride. He takes a deep breath, trying to catch more of it. Euijoo’s hair falls into his eyes as he adjusts his posture, and Nicholas notices how the sunlight catches the strands, soft and golden.
“Are you wearing cologne?” he asks suddenly.
“No, why? Do I smell?”
“I guess it’s your shampoo, then. And no, actually, quite the opposite. You smell really great,” he says, ears burning red.
Euijoo blinks, taken aback for a moment, then grins softly and bumps his shoulder against Nicholas’, a light, casual touch. “What are you saying, Nicol?” he laughs. “Thanks, though, I guess.”
Nicholas laughs awkwardly, but his mind sticks on the nickname. He really likes it— Nicol. No one else calls him that, just Euijoo. Just like Nicholas is the only one who calls him Juju. He smiles to himself, thinking about how much he loves these small things that only exist between them.
When he snaps back from his thoughts, he continues tutoring, and this time Euijoo actually listens, focusing on the work.
Nicholas notices the time without meaning to. There’s still plenty of it left, but his chest tightens anyway. He pushes the feeling aside, leaning a little closer to Euijoo, grateful for the quiet, for the way being here makes everything feel lighter.
Since then, Nicholas always tutors Euijoo in math— it helps, and Euijoo’s grades improve quickly. As thanks, Euijoo starts preparing lunch for Nicholas, since he knows he never brings food to school and barely eats breakfast.
*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*
Euijoo pushed his chair back and stretched, lightly tugging on Nico’s arm.
“Hey,” he said lightly, “are you hungry? I made sandwiches earlier.”
Nicholas blinked, surprised. “You did?”
Euijoo hummed, already reaching for the small plate on his desk. “You always look like you forget to eat.”
Nico laughed quietly, a little embarrassed. “Do I?”
“Yeah,” Euijoo said, handing him one with a bit concerned expression. “You know if you’d eat properly maybe you would still grow. Euijoo added, a small smile tugging at corner of his lips.
Their fingers brushed, barely, and Nico could feel the warmth of Euijoo’s hand for barely a moment. He pulled back too fast, heat blooming in his chest, but Euijoo didn’t tease him for it. He just smiled, soft and easy, like it meant nothing at all.
“You get way too serious when you teach, you know?,” Euijoo added, sitting down on the floor beside the desk. “You should relax a bit, teach.”
Nico shook his head, smiling despite himself. I’m... trying. I just want to make sure you actually get it.”
Euijoo glanced up at him, eyes warm. “I get it just fine, don’t worry.”
He paused, then added more quietly, “I just like it when you explain things. You look...confident.”
Nico’s fingers tightened around the edge of his notebook. “Confident?” he repeated, unsure. He knew a lot about math and studying in general since his parents always depend on him to have only A’s but he wouldn’t really name it confidence, either way it maid Nico develop a smile being complimented for something he put so much time and effort into.
Euijoo nodded a small smile playing on his lips. “Yeah. Like you know exactly what you are doing."
His gaze lingered for a second longer than necessary. “It suits you.”
Nico looked away as he felt a faint warmth creeping up his neck. He took a bite of the sandwich, trying to focus on it, but he couldn’t stop watching the way Euijoo’s hair fell into his eyes, the small crease of concentration on his brow.
For some reason his hands felt sweaty a bit, the feeling not going away no matter how much he wiped them subtly against his jeans.
Every little motion felt significant, and Nico’s mind wandered.
“You don’t have to be perfect, you know,” Euijoo continued, softer now. “I’m not going to disappear if you mess up.”
Nico swallowed, violently brushed his stinging eyes with his sleeve, which is way longer than it should be, you could only see the flash of his fingers from beneath the fabric.
“I know,” he said, even though the words felt heavier than they should have.
Euijoo reached out, absentmindedly rolling up the ends of Nico’s sleeves.
“You always do this,” he murmured.
“Do what?” Nico asked.
“Forget you’re allowed to take up space.”
Nico stayed still, frozen even, heart pounding in his ears- looking directly into Euijoo’s eyes and an unfamiliar thought crossed his mind. One that he was scared to address aloud but he could feel it all too real, too deep and before he knew, he was already drowning.
*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*
Later, as they packed up their things, Nicos thoughts drifted back to photography, how Euijoo had reminded him why he loved capturing moments, even the mundane ones. The way sunlight hit Euijoo’s hair, the quiet laugh, the little quirks that made him... Euijoo , it all felt like something Nico wanted to hold onto forever.
When he finally zipped up his bag, the room felt quieter than before.
“I’ll walk you out,” Euijoo said, standing.
Nico nodded, but something in his chest tightened anyway.
The thought of going home settled heavy in his stomach- not dread, exactly, just a familiar tension. Like bracing for something he already knew the shape of. He shoved the feeling aside, forcing a smile as Euijoo kept talking about an upcoming test, his voice easy, grounding.
It was stupid, really. Nothing had even happened yet.
Still, Nico lingered a moment longer than necessary at the door, fingers fidgeting with his camera strap, like leaving meant stepping back into something colder.
“Thanks for today,” Euijoo said softly. “You really helped.”
Nico looked up at him, and whatever tightness had been twisting in his chest loosened just a little. “Yeah...anytime, Juju,” he murmured. The nickname lingered between them, warm and familiar.
As he walked home, his camera swung gently at his side. He thought about the afternoon—the laughter, the sandwich, the way Euijoo had looked at him like he mattered. And somewhere along the way, Nico realized he didn’t just want to capture moments anymore.
He wanted to capture Euijoo without quite admitting it to himself yet.