Archive of Our Own

Of all the things he could be doing on a Saturday afternoon, Jay did not think he would be sacrificing his time and dignity at a Burning Rivalry lookalike contest. 

The up-and-coming show is a current massive hit in box offices and the dominating topic of discussion on every social media platform there is. Everyone and their mother is obsessed with it, or at the very least, has seen it. 

Heck, even Jay has seen it — and he’s notorious for being out of the loop with TV shows and general pop culture — courtesy of Jake, who had been the one to bring it up. (“I think it’s about hockey. Apparently it’s really interesting… Felix kept talking about it during our shift.”) 

One Chinese takeout dinner and a movie night marathon later, he, Jake and Sunghoon had managed to binge watch the entire series in one sitting. 

Safe to say, it was not about hockey. 

The show itself was alright; not anything up his usual alley, but Jay did find himself thoroughly rooting for Sean and Isaiah to just get together already. A unanimous sentiment was agreed amongst them that, although Isaiah was a bitch at times, the main couple’s storyline was very cute.

Everything had been fine, up until the point where they were in the middle of another sex scene. Not that Jay had any problem with that, because what scene wasn’t a sex scene in Burning Rivalry? No, it was what came out of Sunghoon’s mouth that was the problem.

“Doesn’t Isaiah kinda look like Jay?” Sunghoon had said with mild interest.

Jay stopped chewing on his soggy crab rangoons. “...What?”

“No, I see it,” Jake replied. 

“Something about the nose and the eyebrows. And the mouth,” Sunghoon continued, “it’s sort of small. Don’t you think so?”

“Um.” Jay scratched his head. “Not really, no.”

“Now that you say it,” Jake sprung off the couch, coming up right in front of the TV for a closer look, “you do look really similar.”

“Bro, are you sure that’s not your twin?”

“I really don’t see it,” Jay declared, crossing his arms defensively. 

Okay, he’s not offended at being compared to Isaiah — anyone with eyes can tell that’s a good-looking guy. It’s just a little awkward when his so-called twin was moaning and groaning and thrusting into a dude with his ass fully out on the screen. 

“You’re basically identical,” Sunghoon shrugs, matter-of-fact.

“Yeah, like– that’s Jay right there!” Jake exclaimed, tapping on the TV.

They momentarily lapsed back into silence, continuing to watch the scene as the room filled with sounds of low grunts and skin slapping skin.

Nope.

Sunghoon snickered, turning to Jake. “How did we not see the resemblance before?”

Jay gets up to fetch a glass of much-needed water. He didn’t really feel like eating his crab rangoons anymore.

The rest of the night had passed without incident. Weird, sure, given that Jay's doppelganger was just sitting there on the screen, but without incident. (Well, he was doing more than just sitting, but Jay doesn’t want to get into that anymore.)

Burning Rivalry didn’t cross his mind after that, save for the one or two occasions where Riki was sending memes about the show into their group chat. 

It wasn’t until three weeks later that the universe decided his peace had to run out, in the form of one Jake Sim.

“You want me to join,” Jay uttered, “a Burning Rivalry lookalike competition?”

“Yeah, look!” Jake said, holding up his phone. On the screen was an Instagram post from some sketchy looking account that flashed the words LOOKING FOR OUR SEAN AND ISAIAH!

“Jake,” he sighed. “I’m not doing that.”

“Why not?” Jake had the audacity to almost look offended. 

“Um, the better question is, why would I?”

Jake shook his head. “Dude. This is like, your one chance to win something for once! Don’t you want to make your mom proud?”

“Don’t bring my mom into this!” Jay hissed. “Besides, how do you know I’m even gonna win?”

“Honestly, you could pass as Colin Storrie’s long lost brother,” Sunghoon chimed in, looking him up and down scrutinizingly. “Maybe shorter. And skinnier, but the likeness is there.”

Jay still didn’t see it. If anything, the actor was most definitely much better looking in the face. Plus he had better abs.

“I’m not gonna join some competition just for a bunch of people to judge my appearance and point out exactly how I don’t look like Colin Storrie!” he sputtered.

“But you do!” Jake beamed. “And look, the prize is two hundred dollars cash.”

“Wh– two hundred dollars?” 

What the fuck? Who was funding these events?

“Yep. The meeting location is just down the street at Decelis park, too. That’s a sign if I’ve ever seen one.”

“And we kinda need the money…” Sunghoon remarked. “You know rent went up this month?”

“It goes up every month,” Jay replied. “Wait, what do you mean we?”

Sunghoon gave him a shameless grin. “I mean, you’re gonna join the competition to win us that cash, aren’t you, Jay?”

Two hundred dollars is a lot of money. Especially for three college students who have a collective total of $47.08 in their bank accounts. Unfortunately, none of them are blessed with nepotism or have a trust fund from their parents. They work part time jobs, but minimum wage just doesn’t cut it when it comes to the gargantuan amount of money they spend on food and rent each month. Taco Bell really adds up, as Jay has learned.

“I don’t know about this though… I mean, can you even trust this account? We don’t know who’s organizing the event. It could be a scammer, for god’s sake.”

“Stop making excuses,” Jake said, rolling his eyes.

“If you’re not gonna do this for yourself, do it for us! Think about the reward,” Sunghoon tapped on his temple as if to demonstrate. Jay thinks he might as well have been tapping into an empty coconut. “You really have nothing to lose.”

“But you won’t lose, because I know you’re gonna win, Jay,” Jake affirmed.

“Two hundred dollars,” Sunghoon mouthed exaggeratedly.

That’s what they had said.

Which brings him to the present. Where Jay is standing in the Decelis Park Plaza, in the registry line marked Isaiah, surrounded by what feels like hundreds of people from his university, on what feels like the hottest day of the year. 

Jay shifts on his legs, fanning himself with a Burning Rivalry flyer Jake had thrust into his hands on the way there.

Why is it so hot?

He’s starting to feel antsy. Jay wishes one of the other two were here with him to provide some sort of entertainment or support, but they had already gone ahead to the spectator area — leaving him in the contestant lines to sign up.

For the first time, he takes a proper look around. There are a few vaguely familiar faces, but most of them he doesn’t recognise. Jay wonders if all of these people wanted to come to the contest, or did their friends force them to as well? Some look nothing like Isaiah or Sean, he thinks, feeling a tad more judgemental than usual. 

Suddenly, a startling realization hits him.

Everyone is shirtless.

Shit, will he have to take off his shirt too? Jay really hopes not. He hadn’t had time to get into his summer bod, because who the fuck would have known he’d be joining a Burning Rivalry lookalike contest this time of year?

Jay tries to feel up his biceps as subtly as possible. They seem okay…? What will really make or break it are his abs, which are nowhere near as defined as Colin Storries’, but he’s already made peace with that. At least he has them… right? Just to make sure, Jay sneaks a hand under his shirt to check.

Phew. Still there.

He glances around to make sure no one saw. Thankfully, no one was paying him any attention, except…

Shit. 

There’s a boy looking at him from the Sean line.

Shit shit shit.

The boy is wearing a loose T-shirt, with long-ish fluffy hair and a pair of sunglasses perched atop his head. He meets Jay’s gaze with big, cat-like eyes — which Jay realizes, are strikingly similar to Sean’s.

For a moment he thinks the boy isn’t actually looking at him. It wouldn’t be the first instance, like that one time he thought a classmate was talking to him and had maintained a good four minute conversation before realising she was speaking to someone else on the phone through her Airpods. (Not his finest moment, yikes.)

Shuddering at the memory, Jay turns his head to see if there’s anyone else the boy could be looking at — maybe that buff looking guy with the backwards cap? — but no, his gaze remains firmly on him when he looks back.

The boy raises an eyebrow.

Jay narrows his eyes, but the corner of his lips quirk up. 

Why are you looking at me? He tries to say.

As if understanding, the boy tilts his head to the side, eyes shifting down to his… shirt? Then back up to his face.

Jay quickly looks down. He’s in the middle of inspecting his old Guns N’ Roses T-shirt, trying to see if there was a huge stain or something, when a thought hits him.

Shit, did he see him feel his own abs?

He really hopes the boy’s teasing smile doesn’t answer the question.

Jay’s expression must have been funny, because the boy breaks into a face-splitting grin. Deep dimples appear, dotting his cheeks as crescents form from his eyes. His fluffy hair blows in the wind, bouncing up and down, and it takes Jay a while to realize that he’s shaking from laughter.

Shit.

Jay feels his face heating up. He ducks his head, embarrassed, furiously messing up his hair and fixing it just to have something to do with his hands. 

Where’s Jake when he needs him? He’s better at these things than Jay is. Even Sunghoon, who’s a bumbling idiot, is better than Jay is. Jay is terrible at being cool or smooth or charismatic. 

When he sneaks a glance back, the boy has already looked away. He’s talking to the guy next in line, which allows Jay to stare without being weird. 

From this angle, he really does resemble Sean.

He has a nice jawline. And lips. It’s a shame the boy’s dimples are gone — they seem to only appear when he smiles. His eyes shine with a sort of playful mirth and they’re… looking back at him?

Jay flushes at being caught staring.

But then again, if you’re making a lot of eye contact with someone, that just means they’re looking at you too, right? Right?

“Next!” 

The administrator’s voice snaps him back to reality.

Jay scoots up to the registration desk.

“Just write your name on this signup sheet here and I’ll give you your number,” the girl says. He quickly complies, scribbling down Jay Park before a tag numbered 19 is shoved into his hands and he’s promptly directed to the waiting area. 

The “waiting area” is really just another name for the small section of the plaza where all the contestants stand awkwardly while the spectators have a full view of them. In the center is a raised platform that works as a makeshift stage, with the organisers of the event buzzing back and forth to prepare for the start.

Jay doesn’t get scared of crowds, but this is one that makes him nervous. Dozens of people are gathered in the spectator area; most are girls, but there are a fair number of guys too. Everyone is jamming to the house music blasted through the speakers, but what scares him most are the girls at the front of the audience who are staring hawk eyes into the contestants. He’s pretty sure he feels five pairs of judging eyes on him all at once, so Jay deliberately pretends he doesn’t see them and looks for Sunghoon and Jake instead.

He spots them somewhere off to the side, chatting with Heeseung and Riki. Jay furrows his brows — since when did they show up? He really doesn’t need more people to witness what’s sure to be the most mortifying experience of his life.

The others finally catch sight of Jay, and for whatever reason, start shouting and laughing obnoxiously. He sees now that Riki is also recording everything, which of course he is.

Fucking bastards. 

Jay only has time to throw them a middle finger before the music stops and a booming voice echoes throughout the plaza.

“Areeeee we ready to get started?”

Cheers ripple through the crowd, and onto the stage steps a tall boy Jay recognizes as one of the well-known seniors on campus.

“Welcome, everyone!” He announces into the microphone. “I’m Soobin, your host for today’s event!”

Soobin takes an exaggerated bow as the crowd claps. 

“Alright, I'll briefly explain how the contest will work. As you can see, we have our beautiful contestants here,” he gestures towards them with a showman flair, “with our Isaiahs on this side and Seans over here. Each person will step on stage and show us a little sum’n sum’n. Contestants, make sure to showcase how you’re most like your character!” 

Soobin gives them a big wink. Jay is extremely impressed at his dedication and theatricality.

“Now, let me introduce you to our panel of judges,” he continues, pointing to a table at the front of the stage where a few girls are sitting. “Yunjin, Wonyoung, Iroha, Minju, Karina, and Rei! They will be the ones to decide the three finalists for both Sean and Isaiah. But that’s not it…” Soobin pauses for dramatic effect. “You, the audience, will vote on the winner! At the end, we’ll measure the cheers for each finalist with this noise meter.”

Sure enough, he’s holding a decibel meter that was probably stolen from one of the science labs. 

“So, audience, make sure to watch closely, and shout loud for your favourite contestant! As a reminder, the prize for the winner is two hundred dollars cash, so don’t be scared to go full out — but most importantly, don’t forget to have fun!” 

Whoops and applause sound around the plaza as the music starts back up. “Okay, now the real fun begins! We’ll start with you, Sean number 1!”

Wait, shit. Jay’s actually gonna have to get out there and do something. He’s glad the Seans are starting first, because it gives him a bit of time to think about his part. 

“Yo, do you know what you’re gonna do?” A voice sounds to his left. Jay turns, and he’s met with the sight of an intimidating guy with pink hair and a number 16 stuck on his pec, because he isn’t wearing a shirt.

“I’m not sure,” Jay replies, shrugging. “Maybe a quote, or something?”

“Hmm,” the guy looks thoughtful. “Maybe. I was thinking, like, flexing? That might be dumb.”

“You could drop and do twenty pushups. That’s pretty in-character.”

“That’s not a bad idea, actually.”

“I mean, they’re not doing much, anyway,” Jay says, looking back over to the Seans. Most of them are only walking on stage and waving to the crowd, maybe lifting up a prop trophy, while the spectators cheer and the judge panel inspects them each carefully. In the background, Soobin shouts out unsolicited commentary on each contestant, saying things like wow, Number 4 is really committed to the hair! or hey 7, what’s your workout routine?

Jay quickly loses interest in the people on the platform, and his eyes drift to the boy that was looking at him before. He’s still standing in the waiting area and is now adorned with the number 9 on his shirt. Hmm, Sean Number 9, huh?

“The judges are scary, though,” Pink Hair guy says. 

Jay hums in agreement. “I know Yunjin from one of my classes, and I’ve never seen her take anything so seriously.”

The guy laughs. Jay almost says something else, but he’s distracted by Sean Number 9’s turn. The boy bounces onto the stage, dancing along to the music as the crowd cheers and claps. 

He’s got moves, Jay thinks. Definitely a crowd favourite. 

The cheers grow even louder as the boy does a spin, ending with a dramatic bow and a huge grin on his face. Jay feels his stomach do something embarrassingly close to a swoop. 

“Ooh, that guy was good,” Pink Hair guy comments. 

“Yeah,” he croaks. “Um, do you have any water? I’m parched.”

“I got a Coke,” the other replies, offering him an opened can. Jay is too thirsty to care about sharing a drink with a random guy, so he takes it, guzzling down the beverage quickly.

“Thanks,” he says, wiping his mouth. “I’m Jay, by the way.”

“Nicholas,” Pink Hair guy responds. “Did your friends make you join this stupid contest thing too?”

“Yeah. They said it was for the prize money, but I’m sure seeing me embarrass myself was a big part of it.” He looks over at Sunghoon and Jake, along with Heeseung and Riki, who seem to be having the time of their lives. Meanwhile, he’s here on the other side of the glass, in this metaphorical zoo, about to have metaphorical grubby children point and laugh at him.

“Honestly though, you’d probably win, dude,” Nicholas remarks. “You look really similar to Isaiah.”

“Pfft, I don’t know,” Jay scratches his head awkwardly. “Hopefully I at least get runner-up or something, so today’s not a total waste.”

“Do you think they’ll make the winners kiss at the end?”

Jay’s brain blanks. “What?”

“Considering it’s Burning Rivalry and all, y’know?” Nicholas continues. 

Do the winners… kiss? He hasn’t even thought about that as a possibility. 

All Jay can think of is the boy. Sean Number 9. 

Hypothetically, if he wins as Isaiah, and the boy wins as Sean…

Will they kiss?

It’s possible, right?

“Hello? Jay?” 

Blinking back to reality, he sees Nicholas’s concerned face. “You just spaced out there for a sec’.”

“Sorry,” Jay replies sheepishly. “I mean, they can’t make us do anything, but… y’know. It depends on the vibe. It might be fun.”

“I’d be down to kiss a guy,” Nicholas says absentmindedly.

I’d be down to kiss Number 9, is what Jay thinks, before he shakes it off and chastises himself for being weird. He’s not the type to fall for first impressions, so why is he thinking about some random boy’s cute, small lips right now?

“Me too, I guess,” he mutters. 

Jay is in the middle of a small internal crisis when Soobin’s booming voice interrupts his thoughts.

“Let’s give it up for our Seans!”

Applause fills the plaza as the contestants move back into the waiting area. Jay scans the crowd, eyes once again landing on Number 9, only to find him already looking back. 

The boy gives him a cheeky eyebrow raise so brief before turning away that Jay thinks he probably dreamed it up. 

“Don’t sit down yet, folks, because it is now time for our Isaiahs!” Soobin exclaims. “Come on out, Number 1!”

The vibe switch from the Sean event is immediate. Isaiah Number 1 opens by doing a back flip, which is so effective at getting the crowd hyped up that Jay actually starts to feel anxious — is saying a quote a dumb idea? Everyone else is doing something physical, but he’s not about to compete with the other Isaiahs on one-arm push ups or whatever. There is one pressing issue, though: he needs to figure out what quote to do, stat.

It doesn't help that he cannot, under any circumstances, make a fool of himself in front of Sean Number 9. That’s if he hasn’t already.

No pressure at all, Jay.

When he finally manages to think of something, Jay scrambles to pull out his phone, quickly looking up the scene on Youtube to refresh his memory. Wait, he doesn’t recall this part being that long? There's no way he can remember and say all that! 

Suddenly, Number 16 is called up, which means it’s Nicholas’s turn. He successfully impresses the crowd by doing ten whole clapping push ups in a roll, and Jay makes sure to cheer especially loud.

Then it’s 17, and he’s scrambling to remember his lines, then 18, and before he knows it, Soobin is calling “Isaiah 19!” and the audience cheers and Jay feels detached from body when he walks onto the stage, acutely aware of every pair of eyes glued onto him — as well as Riki’s phone gleefully recording his every move. 

Jay straightens his shoulders, adopting a more confident walk and getting into character. The crowd is already roaring, and Sunghoon — the loud ass buffoon he is — starts a chant of “Jay! Jay! Jay!” causing the masses to join in. Jay sure as hell isn’t passing up this opportunity, so he raises his arms up and basks in the cheers and screams of his name. 

He needs to go full out if he’s gonna do this properly. 

“Okay, listen the fuck up!”

The crowd fades to a hushed suspense.

“Look, I don't give a fuck how many goals I've scored. I don't give a fuck how I played two fucking nights ago,” Jay bellows, trying to channel all the energy of his inner Isaiah Rozanoff. “I don’t need to think about that, that was yesterday. That was before.”

He racks his brain for the next line. Damn it, what was it again?

“Now, I only need one thing,” he grits, hoping his Russian accent is decent. “I. Need. To. Win.”

The crowd erupts.

People are screaming, laughing, cheering, and it feels like everything happens all at once — he sees Jake cackling, with Sunghoon and of Riki practically collapsed on top of each other, while Heeseung is grinning ear to ear, having taken over the role of camera man. The sounds of shouting and clapping are deafening.

“Seems like Number 19 should take up acting,” Soobin chuckles into the microphone. “Are you a theatre major?”

“No,” Jay shouts over the crowd, laughing as he jogs back to the waiting area. 

“Dude, that was crazy good,” Nicholas says, dabbing him up. “How’d you make it so accurate? You basically just became Isaiah.”

Jay shakes his head as he runs a hand through his hair. “Just gotta commit to the bit, I guess.” 

Thank god that was successful. Sure, he was swearing like a middle schooler learning the word fuck for the first time, but at least everyone seemed to eat it up. 

There’s one particular person he hopes he impressed, though…

Jay’s eyes dart over to the Sean section, to the boy with Number 9 on his shirt, and yet again, he’s already looking back at him; this time with an intrigued smile on his face. Jay grins back and — call it the confidence boost from the crowd’s cheers or maybe it’s him still being somewhat in character — sends Sean Number 9 a wink.

A light pink blush dusts the boy’s face.

Cute, he thinks, feeling a flutter in his chest.

Jay spends the remaining time of the Isaiah showcases stealing glances at the boy.

“Alright, folks, we’ll have a quick intermission while the judges make their decisions on the six finalists,” Soobin announces. “In the meantime, feel free to walk around, go to the bathroom, get a drink — but don’t go too far! We’ll continue in fifteen minutes.”

God, finally. He’s been needing a break for a while now.

Jay says a brief greeting to Nicholas before walking briskly over to Sunghoon and Jake — Riki and Heeseung having only stopped by for a bit before they had to leave — but even from afar, Jay notices the amused expressions on their faces. They’re both wearing the same smile, but it’s suspicious. Too suspicious.

“What’s going on?” He asks apprehensively. “You guys are being weird. Was my performance that good?”

“Who’s your friend, Jay?” Jake asks, ignoring all of Jay’s previous questions. He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

“Who, Nicholas?” Jay answers, looking back at his newly-made buddy, standing out against the crowd with his pink hair. “Have you guys seen him around campus? He’s pretty cool.”

“Not that guy, idiot, he meant him,” Sunghoon rolls his eyes as he nods towards someone in the back. Following his line of sight, Jay realises that they’re referring to none other than Sean Number 9, who’s currently chatting to some of his friends.

“Oh,” Jay says meekly, cheeks reddening. “That’s— that’s just… I don’t know! That’s just a random person!”

“Don’t even, we have the evidence right here,” Jake retorts, pulling out his phone. 

Jay witnesses a horrifying fancam-esque video of himself finishing the performance and walking off the stage, and where the recording should have stopped — it proceeds to show him, staring at something (or someone) off-camera, smiling like an idiot, and sending a mortifying, God forsaken, cheesy ass wink. 

In the background of the video, gasps and disbelieved laughs are sounded, along with someone’s voice, no doubt Heeseung, chuckling something like he’s so corny.

“What the fuck,” Jay sputters. “This is an invasion of privacy! Who filmed this?”

“Riki,” Sunghoon answers easily. “He Airdropped it to us before he left.”

Of course it was the little bitch. He should’ve known. Jay makes a mental note to freeze Riki’s phone in jello when he gets the time.

“Okay? So who is he?” Jake repeats, relentless.

“I told you, I don’t know!” Jay blurts. “He just— he was looking at me, a lot. We keep making eye contact.”

Against his better judgment, he glances back towards the boy, who isn't looking. Instead, he’s met with a terrifying stare from his blond friend. 

Jay snaps his head back. 

“Why aren’t you talking to him?” Sunghoon furrows his brows. 

“I’m scared!” Jay whisper-shouts. “Is his friend still looking over here?”

“Yup,” Jake snorts. “Dude, man up. At least go over there and ask for his name or something.”

“Yeah, at least,” Sunghoon agrees. “Where’s the Jay that winked at a stranger?”

“He’s not here anymore!” Jay yelps. “He died the moment you guys showed me that fucking video!”

Seeing his own antics in third person was probably the most humbling experience he could ever go through.

“It’s only embarrassing if you make it embarrassing,” Jake shrugs. 

“Well, you sure didn’t help when you—” Jay only has Sunghoon and Jake’s widened eyes as a warning before he feels a soft tap on his shoulder.

Jay whips around to see Sean Number 9 right in front of him. 

“Oh,” Jay says dumbly. “Hi. Hey.”

“Hi,” the boy replies, eyes sparkling with amusement. God, his eyelashes are so long. “Jay, right?”

Jay’s mouth falls open. “How do you know who I am?”

“Well, they were screaming your name five minutes ago,” the boy answers, a hint of a smile on his lips.

Fuck, he forgot about that. Great, Jay, try not to be stupid in front of the cute boy challenge, already failed.

“Oh, right,” he stumbles, “and you’re…?”

“Jungwon,” the boy answers.

“Pretty name.” Like you, he doesn’t say. “It suits you.”

At this, Jungwon rolls his eyes, turning away. His ears, poking slightly out of his hair, are unmistakably red. “Are you always this cheesy?” 

“I try not to be,” Jay says sheepishly, “but it’s not really working.”

“It’s not,” Jungwon laughs, the sound bright and melodious. “But anyway… your part up there was good. You’re a good performer.”

It takes Jay an embarrassingly long time to register that he was being complimented.

“Oh,” he repeats. “Thank you. Yours was good too. I liked your… dancing.”

“Thanks,” Jungwon smiles, “I’m a dance major, so.”

“You are?” Jay asks, taking in his appearance more closely. 

The boy has broad shoulders — and when he reaches up to fix his hair, his T-shirt lifts up slightly, revealing a small waist. Oh. Yup, definitely a dancer build. Totally not Jay’s type at all. 

“That makes sense. I’m in, uh, engineering. Civil engineering.” 

“Cool,” Jungwon says, looking up at him through his long, long eyelashes. “So you must be smart, then.”

Is he flirting with him? He has to be flirting with him, right?

From behind, Jay hears Jake clearing his throat and unsubtly elbowing him in the back.

“I’m not,” he stammers. 

Sunghoon’s cough comes out sounding suspiciously similar to clearly. 

"It’s just— engineering is hard, but anyone can do it if they try, ‘cuz it's not really about being smart it's more about—" A firm grip lands on his shoulder. Jake. A silent, forceful please stop talking. 

“Hey there,” Jake slides into the conversation with a friendly smile. “I’m Jake. Sorry Jay here is a little wound up. Too many Redbulls this morning, you know?”

Jungwon giggles, and it’s the best thing Jay’s ever heard. He just wishes it was directed at him and not at Jake. 

“It’s okay, we all have those days,” Jungwon says, narrowing his eyes playfully. “It’s cute, though.”

Jay almost snaps his neck at the speed he looks back at the boy. Did Jungwon really just say he was cute?

“Oh— uh…”

“Well,” Jungwon continues, saving him from his own loserish mumbling, “I think we’re starting soon, so I’ll go back to my friends over there. See you around, Jay.” 

“See you,” Jay says meekly, but Jungwon has already walked away. 

“Dude, what was that!?” Jake exclaims, shoving him. 

Sunghoon sniggers. “I knew you were bad,” he says, shaking his head in pity, “but that was…”

“Attention, everyone,” Soobin’s voice booms over the speakers. “We’ll now announce the finalists, so can everybody gather around the stage area, please?”

"It wasn't that bad," Jay mutters, already moving with the crowd toward the stage and pretending not to see Jake and Sunghoon exchange unimpressed looks.

Okay, it was pretty fucking bad. Though to be fair, how was he supposed to function properly when Jungwon was looking at him like that?

“Alright, I’d first like to thank everyone for coming out today. Can we get a round of applause for all of our contestants?” Soobin remarks, placing the microphone on a table to also clap. “You guys brought such great energy, and I’m super impressed with all of your performances! However, after careful consideration, the judges have come to a decision.”

The crowd thrums with anticipation.

“For Sean, drumroll please, we have…” Soobin pauses, smiling mischievously, “Number 7, Number 9, and Number 22! Please come up onto the stage!”

Number 9? Jay perks up. Sean Number 9? That’s Jungwon! 

The three contestants walk onto the stage as the crowd roars with applause. Jay cheers along with everyone else, keeping his eyes peeled on Jungwon.

“And now for Isaiah…” Soobin continues, “Number 1, Number 14, and Number 19!”

Jay forgets he’s Number 19 until Sunghoon and Jake clap on his back, shoving at him to move.

Woah, he actually got picked?

He stumbles ungracefully onto the stage.

“Give it up for our finalists!” 

It isn’t until he stands on the platform with the five other contestants, facing the audience and their applause, that Jay realises he’s got a real shot at winning this. 

Winning along with a very, very cute boy.

Jay tries to subtly peep at Jungwon, which is hard to do when they’re standing in-line and he’s three people away. 

“Spectators, you know your job, right?” Soobin declares. “Your shouts are your votes! Remember to make some noise for your favourite contestants. We’ll start over here with Number 7, coming in with the Sean-accurate physique! Let me hear you, people!”

The crowd obliges enthusiastically as Number 7 steps forward, doing a couple of flexing poses at the front of the stage. Jay has to admit the guy looks like he works out a lot.

“Alright, we’re locking in the score!” Soobin announces, pointing to the decibel meter in his hand. “Okay, now make some noise for Number 9, y’all!”

The roar that follows Jungwon stepping forward is immediate. It’s clear that he knows how to work the crowd, and Jay’s assessment about him being the fan favourite proved to be correct if the deafening noise from the masses means anything. 

He’s just so… charming. And adorable. Or that might just be Jay, but honestly, who wouldn’t be endeared by someone like Jungwon? Plus, he seems to embody Sean’s friendly and easygoing spirit, which is earning him a lot of points with the crowd.

"Thank you, Number 9, that was great! And our last Sean, Number 22! Give it up!"

The last person steps forward and the noise level rises again, but Jay knows — from glancing over at Soobin and the judges, who are studying the decibel meter — this guy isn’t doing as well as the previous two contestants. 

If anything, Jungwon has definitely won, no doubt about it. The screams were too loud and the boy was too popular for him to lose. 

The only words bouncing around in Jay’s empty brain are Nicholas’s, about how the winners have to kiss. Is that going to happen? He hopes so…

"Alright, alright! Moving on to our Isaiahs!" Soobin announces. "Number 1, aka, Mister Backflip! Show him some love!”

Amidst the crowd screaming for the Backflip Guy, Jay jolts with the realisation that, as much as there’s a chance of him winning and maybe, potentially, kissing the other winner — there’s an equally likely chance of him not winning.

And if, say, Backflip Guy was going to win along with Jungwon, does that mean…?

Oh, fuck no.

The thought of Backflip Guy making out with Jungwon makes something tick in his jaw. 

He has to win. But how?

Suddenly, it’s the next Isaiah’s turn, and Jay has approximately twenty seconds to figure out a game plan before his fate is locked and sealed.

Then, Soobin is calling out his name and it’s Jay’s turn.

Jay walks to the front of the stage as the crowd roars — loud, but not loud enough. People are tired from screaming, it seems.

No, this won’t do. He’ll have to do something crazy to pump them up to maximum volume. 

Jay’s eyes find Sunghoon in the crowd, gesturing at the water bottle in his hand. 

Sunghoon only stares back at him blankly. 

Jay, beckoning more insistently, points again at the water bottle.

“What?” Sunghoon mouths. God, this idiot.

“Pass that to me!” He hisses. 

Sunghoon's brows furrow but, with uncertainty and confusion, he tosses the bottle over.

Jay catches it, uncaps it, sneaks a last glance back towards Jungwon — and for one second, reconsiders every decision that has led him here — then dumps the entire contents of the bottle onto his head.

The cold hits him all at once. 

Jay exhales, blinking water from his lashes, and drags a hand back through his drenched hair, pushing it off his face. His shirt clings to him, soaked through and useless. He grabs the hem and pulls it off in one easy motion, slinging it over his shoulder.

The crowd explodes.

Well, shit.

In essence, he hopes it looked hot, like one of those heartthrob love interests in a 2000s romcom that everyone swoons over.

Whether everyone is actually swooning, shouting in shock, or laughing at him, Jay doesn’t know — all that matters is, it is loud. Hopefully louder than it was for Backflip Guy.

Right now, he’s focused on raising his arms and continuing to hype up the crowd, all while tensing his abs to his best ability so they appear more well-defined. He doesn’t even want to look in Jake and Sunghoon’s direction to see their reaction. Jay would like to keep whatever shred of dignity he has left today.

“Woah, an absolute performance from Isaiah Number 19! Give it up, everyone!”

The cheers and shouts are still loud as Jay walks back towards his spot, where the other Isaiahs are giving him impressed looks.

When Jay’s eyes dart sideways, Jungwon is already staring — gaze tracking slowly downward and back up in a way that makes his brain short-circuit. Jay swallows, tongue moving subconsciously to wet his lips, and Jungwon’s eyes flicker down to catch the movement.

“Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” Soobin announces. “After comparing the scores, we'll now reveal the winners!”

A hush falls over the crowd as everyone holds their breath in anticipation.

“Our Sean Hollander is…”

Soobin has really mastered the art of the dramatic pause, Jay thinks.

“...Number 9!”

Jungwon. Of course. He never doubted it for a second.

The audience cheers, and Jay watches in endearment as Jungwon walks up next to Soobin, blowing a kiss to the crowd.

“And our Isaiah Rozanoff is…”

Shit, it’s the real deal now. Jay prays to God luck shone on his side, and that he didn’t pour water all over himself and take off his shirt for nothing. 

“...Number 19! Congratulations!”

Jay blinks.

He’s done it. He’s really done it. 

One of the other Isaiahs claps him congratulatorily on the back, and deafening applause fills his senses as Jay takes the spot on Soobin’s other side.

The screams don’t let up until Soobin silences the audience with a shushing motion.

“We’re here with…?” Soobin holds the microphone out to him. 

“Jay,” he replies. 

“And…?”

“Jungwon.”

“Jay and Jungwon,” Soobin repeats, chuckling. “Do you guys know each other?”

“Nope,” Jungwon answers, looking at Jay. His eyes morph into cute crescents as he grins.

Jay smiles back, cheeks flushing hot.

Soobin takes a step back from being between them, pushing them closer together. “I think we picked great winners, didn’t we, everyone?”

The crowd erupts again — and then, somewhere from the back, someone starts it. 

“You guys should kiss!” 

“Yeah, kiss!” Someone else pipes up.

Then another voice picks it up. Then another. Until it's everywhere — the rhythmic chant of “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”  — relentless and completely inescapable. Jay’s pretty sure he hears Sunghoon’s loud ass voice ringing clearly over the crowd.

Jay turns towards Jungwon awkwardly, hands glued to his sides. 

“We— We don’t have to, if you don’t want to,” he stammers.

Despite this being the exact scenario he envisioned, Jay forgot to consider Jungwon’s side of things. What if he didn’t want to kiss a stranger in front of an audience? That would be fair.

“You don’t want to?” Jungwon asks, cocking an eyebrow. 

“I didn’t say that,” Jay breathes.

He wants to. He wants to so badly.

Jungwon holds his gaze for a moment. Then he takes a step forward, fingers finding the drawstrings of Jay’s shorts.

“Yeah?” he whispers.

Jay nods feverishly. 

The drawstrings go taut. Jungwon tugs once — and Jay's feet move on their own, forward and into him, and then Jungwon's free hand is feeling up his bicep and his mouth is on Jay's and the crowd simply ceases to exist.

The kiss is immediate and consuming and— wow, Jungwon is not holding back. His tongue presses in and Jay opens up immediately, without hesitation, without a single functioning thought in his head, fingers twisting into the fabric of Jungwon's shirt and dropping down to hold at his waist. 

Jungwon's hands move — up, up, palms dragging up his bare sides, feeling every ridge of muscle beneath them — then higher, over the curve of his shoulders, across the breadth of his chest, up around his neck — and then Jungwon's fingers are raking into Jay's damp hair, nails scraping against his scalp, tugging, pulling. The small groan Jay expels gets lost between the audience’s noise.

Jay swipes his tongue over Jungwon’s lips, tasting sweet strawberries.

Good lord.

His hands slide up and under Jungwon’s shirt, swallowing the tiny gasps and sounds Jungwon makes every time his thumb brushes higher. Jay leans into it, kissing him deeper, pressing their bodies impossibly closer. 

He feels the control slowly slipping from his grasps. He’s about two seconds away from taking off his pants when something light taps against his leg. 

Jay breaks away from the kiss, from Jungwon’s warmth, to look down.

It’s an empty can of coke.

“Yah, that’s enough, you freaks!” Jake’s voice breaks through the spell and brings him back to reality. 

The two of them separate, Jungwon’s face noticeably red, and Jay keeps an arm slung around his waist as they wave abashedly to the screaming audience.

Soobin laughs into the microphone. “That was insane, you guys. I– wow,” he laughs again. “One more time, thank you everyone for coming today. I think we can all agree it was a blast! Winners, you can claim your prize money at the administration table over there!”

Then, in the whirlwind of the stampeding crowd, and flashing cameras, and Jake shaking him by the shoulder hard enough to break his spine, and Sunghoon shouting at him in disbelief and pride, and the prize money being shoved into his hands; Jungwon’s no longer in his grasp.

Once Jay realises, he scans the crowd, looking for the boy with the long-ish fluffy hair and big, cat-like eyes.

He spots him off to the side, cheeks still flushed pink, trapped between his blond friend’s hands while the other boy appears to be aggressively interrogating him about something.

Jay can’t help the grin pulling at his mouth. He walks over before he can think too hard about it.

“Hey, Jungwon,” he says, biting down nervously on his lip.

Both boys snap toward Jay instantly with wide eyes. 

Then the blond friend shoves Jungwon toward him with both hands, who lets out a startled noise as he stumbles straight into Jay’s chest.

Jay catches him by the waist, and for a moment they just stare at each other before both giggling at the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Can I have your number?” Jay asks when they calm down.

“Give me your phone,” Jungwon says, looking up at him. From this angle, he looks tiny.

Jay fumbles, pulling the phone out of his pocket and unlocking it before passing it over. Jungwon quickly types his number into the contacts.

He gives the phone back and tiptoes to lean close up to Jay's ear. 

“I have to go now, but text me,” Jungwon whispers, and before Jay could respond — presses a chaste kiss to his cheek.

It’s stupid, because despite having literally made out on stage, the cheek kiss is what flusters Jay the most.

“C’mon, Sunoo,” Jungwon says to his friend, grabbing his arm and dragging him away.

“Bye,” Jay manages to croak out.

Jungwon looks back over his shoulder, giving him a cute dimpled smile before disappearing into the crowd. 

Jay finally looks down at the new contact Jungwon created on his phone.

Sean #9 (p.s. ur hot)