Chapter Text
"Dude, you listening?"
Seonghyeon's glassy eyes slowly focused on Martin, his mind blank from spacing out for a few minutes. Martin's eyebrows were creased in a concerned frown. Across the table, the taller boy tore into a buttery croissant, leaving a scattered, messy crust of golden flakes over his plate. It was a rainy and cloudy Friday afternoon after their classes, and they were tucked away in a corner at the small cafe they frequented weekly. A soft jazz melody hummed in the background of the half-empty cafe, masking the rhythmic patter of the rain against the window.
“No, I’m sorry. I had to pull an all-nighter yesterday to finish two assignments,” Seonghyeon was apologetic, his lips tugging upwards into a tiny grimace. The fragile skin beneath his eyes felt rigid and tense with fatigue. Alongside Martin, Seonghyeon was in his first year, majoring in Music Engineering and Production. Seonghyeon rubbed his eye with one hand whilst picking up his steamy coffee, pressing the rim of the cup to his lips before taking a sip. The slight scalding burn of the liquid travelling down his throat helped him stay awake.
“Were you able to finish the demo in time?” Martin asked in the midst of chewing. He grabbed a paper napkin from the table to wipe the crumbs off his lips.
Seonghyeon nodded with a hum, gently setting his cup of coffee back down on the table. “Yeah, fortunately, I did. I just hope it was enough to get a passing mark. Man, I was half-asleep completing those assignments.”
“At least you submitted something. I heard from James hyung that Leo hyung forgot the assignment was due yesterday. He was hungover from Sangwon’s party,” Martin snickered, grinning. “He’s been raging since last night.”
“Shit,” Seonghyeon emphasised, eyes widening. A small, guilty chuckle escaped his lips. “I’m stuck between feeling bad for Leo hyung and wanting to laugh. I’ll text him later to see how he’s holding up.”
“Yeah, man, please do. He needs all the support he could get,” Martin dusted the remaining golden flakes off his hands and cleared his throat, leaning back into his chair with folded arms. He had a suspicious glint in his eyes, coyly smiling at Seonghyeon.
Seonghyeon cocked an eyebrow at Martin skeptically. “What’s with that cheesy grin you’ve got on your face?”
“Well,” Martin humorously shrugged, pursing his lips, “I’m just curious about your ongoing romantic progress with Keonho.”
Seonghyeon visibly tensed, shyly smiling. He averted his gaze. Like Seonghyeon and Martin, Keonho was a first-year student majoring in Sports Science and Medicine. He was extremely gorgeous and popular, pretty much a celebrity in the large social circle they shared. Everyone either wanted to be or date him—Keonho was perfect in every sense. Seonghyeon somehow managed to befriend Keonho, and they immediately formed a bond. However, Seonghyeon craved more from Keonho in a romantic sense. He’s been in love with Keonho since they first became acquainted.
“There isn’t any progress,” Seonghyeon glumly said, broodingly picking at his cheesecake with a fork. “The last time we texted was a week ago. You know how popular he is. I don’t want to blow up his phone like a loser.”
“What? How does that make you a loser for wanting to text someone?” Martin berated, disappointment evident in his eyes. He stared at Seonghyeon quietly for a brief moment before picking up his phone off the table and hastily tapping at his screen, occasionally sending secretive glances to Seonghyeon.
Seonghyeon’s eyes tracked the swift and nimble movement of Martin’s fingers, peering at him warily. An uneasy flutter settled into his stomach. “What are you up to? You’re making me nervous.”
Martin triumphantly handed Seonghyeon his phone with a teasing shake, proudly staring at Seonghyeon. “I texted him asking him if he was free to join us right now.”
“What?” Seonghyeon spluttered, jolting forward to snatch the phone out of Martin’s grip. He squinted at the brightness of the screen, swiping at Martin’s conversation with Keonho.
martin:
yo bro, u free rn? ✌️
my third fav broski:
hey. yh i am. why? 🤨
martin: i’m with seonghyeon at our usual spot. wanna join us?
my third fav broski: yeah sure. i’m acc just 5 mins away from there.
my third fav broski: see u guys soon 😮💨
martin: cool 😸
Martin gently snatched his phone back from Seonghyeon, setting it back down onto the table. “Come on, it’ll be fine. This is a good opportunity for you to catch up with him.”
“Yeah, but still. I’m not mentally prepared enough to see him. Like, what do I even say? It’s been a week since I’ve spoken to him, and I’ve forgotten the natural flow of our conversations,” Seonghyeon restlessly groaned, his ears tinting red.
“Just be chill. Stop freaking out,” Martin reassured him, leaning over the table to comfortingly jostle Seonghyeon’s shoulder. “Chill. It’ll be okay.”
Seonghyeon’s gaze trailed over to where Keonho could be seen outside, under the rain, closing his umbrella before shaking off any leftover water. His eyes stayed glued on Keonho the entire time. Seonghyeon watched, transfixed, as he pushed the door to the cafe open. The soft jingle of the door echoed, cutting through the tranquil atmosphere of the cafe. Keonho was dressed in a navy blue mesh sweater, a plain white shirt under, baggy washed denim jeans, and a pair of worn-out adidas sneakers. A dark green cap, with yellow embroidered letters, snugly sat on his head. Strands of his sleek dark hair pushed back under the cap. Even with a cap on, Keonho’s delicate and pretty face left Seonghyeon utterly mesmerised.
Keonho’s expressive and sun-kissed brown doe eyes searched the cafe before he met Seonghyeon’s enamored gaze with a toothy smile, revealing an endearing glimpse of his cute bunny-like front teeth.
“Hey,” Keonho breathlessly greeted them, sauntering over to their booth and sliding in next to Martin, who moved his tote bag to make space for the other boy.
“Hey,” Seonghyeon timidly greeted back, unable to look Keonho in the eyes. “How are you?”
“Good, thanks. I was just out with a few friends earlier. I was actually happy that Martin messaged me. I was hoping to meet up with you guys soon,” Keonho radiantly smiled, placing his own plain brown tote bag in the space next to him.
"A meet-up was definitely due,” Martin tilted his head slightly to the side, pondering with squinted eyes. “I think it’s been a week since I met up with you in person.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve been caught up with my part-time job and finishing assignments,” Keonho sheepishly said, his eyes flickering over to Seonghyeon. “I meant to text you, Hyeon.”
Seonghyeon’s heart hammered dramatically against his chest at the sweet nickname. He cleared his throat, thickly swallowing. Next to Keonho, Martin watched him with a teasing grin. “Yeah, it’s fine. Don’t worry, I totally get it. I didn’t want to disturb you, so I thought I would wait until you texted me when you were less occupied.”
“Honestly, I don’t mind when you text me even if I’m busy,” Keonho warmly smiled, dipping his head shyly.
“Oh, okay? I’ll definitely make sure to text you more, then?” Seonghyeon’s cheeks were burning from the elated smile stretching his lips, his dimple poking out of his cheek.
“I’d like that,” Keonho gently nodded.
Seonghyeon longingly gazed into Keonho’s sun-kissed brown eyes, completely oblivious to the world around them. A magnetic string tied him to Keonho as they silently locked gazes for a moment.
Martin let out a deliberate cough, awkwardly breaking the intimate staring session between them, and grabbed the menu to slide it towards a flushed Keonho. “Order something. I’ll pay.”
Slight embarrassment prickled at Seonghyeon’s skin, looking away from Keonho to grab his cup to take another sip from his coffee. The liquid melting on his tongue distracted him from the embarrassment.
Keonho courteously flagged down a waitress, wiping and clearing a table. She politely approached their table, notepad and pen ready. Keonho ordered a cheesecake and a latte. She neatly noted it down with a smile before going over to get his order ready.
"So, we all still down for Saturday?” Martin asked, rubbing his hands together.
“Uh, what’s on Saturday again?” Seonghyeon dumbly asked, blankly blinking at Martin. “I completely forgot.”
Martin’s face dropped, staring at Seonghyeon with visceral disappointment. “Nah, come on. We made plans with James hyung at his place, remember?”
Realisation dawned on Seonghyeon’s face, his body deflating dispiritedly. “Yeah, I’m not really sure if I still want to go.”
“Really? I was looking forward to you being there,” Keonho dejectedly said, jutting his lips out in a small pout.
Seonghyeon perked up in his seat, his cheeks warm and dark eyes twinkling with delight. “You…want me to be there?”
“Of course. I’ll only go if you go,” Keonho sweetly smiled, staring at Seonghyeon.
“Okay,” Seonghyeon returned the smile, finding himself lost in Keonho’s gaze again.
────
“I’m meeting up with Juhoon after this. I’ll see you both this Saturday,” Martin bid the amused pair a frolicsome goodbye, walking in the opposite direction.
The rain had ceased. The street was drowned in puddles, reflecting the tiny stars blinking into the night sky. Seonghyeon slowly walked alongside Keonho, a cold draft of wind blowing against his skin, sending shivers down his spine. He folded his arms across his chest, snuggling closer to his plain dark grey hoodie. Seonghyeon side-eyed Keonho, eyes tracing the rhythmic flutter of Keonho’s long eyelashes.
“It was nice to see you again,” Keonho shyly spoke, fracturing the tranquil silence that had comfortably settled between them. “When you didn’t text me for a week, I thought you were mad at me or something.”
“Sorry, I should have texted you,” Seonghyeon apologised, flashing Keonho an uncertain smile. “You’re so popular it kind of freaks me out sometimes.”
Keonho giggled, the airy sound reverberating through Seonghyeon’s cold ears and causing his stomach to endearingly flutter. He wanted to record Keonho’s giggle and listen to it on loop. “Yeah, I get it.”
The smile on Keonho’s lips gradually faltered, his eyebrows furrowing. Seonghyeon nervously watched Keonho, an uneasy sensation settling in his stomach at the abrupt change.
“Everything okay?” Seonghyeon gently asked.
“Well, it’s just,” Keonho hesitated, shyly looking at Seonghyeon, “a guy asked me out recently. Woochan. We’ve actually been texting and talking a lot. But, I’m not really sure how I feel about him.”
Seonghyeon’s face fell, his ears ringing at the mention of Woochan. His lips twitched into a lopsided and stiff smile. Woochan was a first-year student also majoring in Music Engineering and Production. He was in all of Seonghyeon’s classes, but they hardly spoke, even though Martin was good friends with him. Seonghyeon was already aware of Woochan’s interest in Keonho. He hated the idea of Woochan and Keonho dating.
“Would you think about dating him? Are you attracted to him?” Seonghyeon cautiously bombarded Keonho with questions, intensely staring at his stunning side profile.
Keonho sheepishly shrugged, fiddling with the strap of his tote bag. He looked at the floor. “I mean, I think he’s pretty good looking, I guess? But,” he tentatively paused, his eyes still fixed to the floor. His ears were burning red. “If I did decide to date him, would that like…bother you?”
Seonghyeon’s breath caught in his throat, struggling to process Keonho’s blunt question. He pretended to play dumb. “Why do you think that would bother me?”
Keonho stopped in his tracks, causing Seonghyeon to copy him. He turned around to face Seonghyeon, his pretty face flushed pink, and a fisted hand hovering over his mouth. A honeyed warmth glazed over his eyes, and Seonghyeon's breath hitched in anticipation.
“Sorry, I just thought…that,” Keonho gingerly stammered, visibly mortified, “we had something. So I just wanted to make sure. Um, I’m really sorry. I think I’ve misread this.”
Seonghyeon blanked out, his brain turning to mush. He stupidly struggled to coordinate his mouth with his brain, resulting in an idiotic response. “No, I mean, I thought we were friends?”
As soon as those words left Seonghyeon’s mouth, he immediately regretted it once he saw Keonho’s face dejectedly drop. Keonho recovered from the accidental rejection after a minute with an awkward grin and nod, fixing his hat.
“Right, yeah, sorry,” Keonho fakely smiled, turning around to slowly continue walking. “Just forget about what I said. I think I’m just tired.”
Seonghyeon numbly fixed his gaze on the floor, silently walking behind Keonho. He felt a heavy and sinking dread of knowing that he had destroyed any chance he had to romantically pursue Keonho with his own words. He didn’t even realise they reached Keonho’s place.
“I’ll see you on Saturday, then?” Keonho asked, his voice sounding unusually depressed. He was staring at Seonghyeon, eyes vacant pools of brown and devoid of any warmth.
“Yeah, see you Saturday,” Seonghyeon stiffly said, tipping his head forward in a small nod.
He quietly watched Keonho walk into his apartment complex until his figure was out of sight. He breathed out a sigh of exasperation at the air, throwing his head back. I fucked up.
Seonghyeon spent the entire ten-minute walk back to his place in utter defeat. The sight of Keonho’s dejected face after he accidentally rejected him, looping in his mind. He tiredly slipped off his sneakers in his small hallway and walked into his bedroom. Seonghyeon slowly pulled open his top drawer, dark eyes examining the small, slim, and triangular box edged with a dark red outline with ONE WISH WILLOW imprinted in bold red at the front of the packaging. For just a split second, the thought crossed his mind before he hastily slammed the top drawer shut and backed away. He couldn’t do it.
He sat on the edge of his bed, leaning over his spread thighs, and ran a frustrated hand through his dark hair. He shakily bounced his right leg, absentmindedly staring at a small patch of his wallpaper peeling off at the corners.
Seonghyeon was aware that if he decided to use the one-wish willow, he wouldn’t be able to return from this. He couldn’t muster the courage to use it. If there was still a chance, he could explain to Keonho that he didn’t mean to reject him, then everything would work out. He just had to wait until tomorrow to speak to Keonho.
….Was what he thought.
The next day, Seonghyeon was shoving his Mac laptop into his backpack after the end of his lecture, which unfortunately Martin ended up missing, when Woochan popped up next to him. He tapped Seonghyeon on the shoulder. Seonghyeon paused to stare at Woochan, raising an eyebrow. Woochan’s never attempted to speak to him before.
“Hey, want to walk to the next class together?” Woochan asked, softly smiling at Seonghyeon.
Seonghyeon dumbly blinked at him, slowly surveying the half-empty lecture hall and gesturing to himself with his hand. “Uh, me?”
Woochan charismatically laughed, playfully nudging Seonghyeon with a jutted pout. “Of course, you. I’m speaking to you, aren’t I?”
Seonghyeon cautiously eyed him, strands of his dark hair grazing his eyelashes, whilst throwing one strap of his backpack over his shoulder. He walked alongside Woochan, exiting the lecture hall. “Did something happen?”
Woochan stared at him, cocking his head to the side. “What? Am I not allowed to speak to you or something?”
“No, it’s just we’ve hardly ever spoken. I didn’t think you wanted to, to be honest,” Seonghyeon truthfully explained, side-eyeing Woochan. And because I hate that you have a crush on Keonho too. He didn’t say that part out loud.
“Honestly,” Woochan cleared his throat, pondering with a nervous chuckle. “You’re kind of intimidatingly good-looking. Even though I’m friends with Martin, I found it hard to initiate a conversation with you without being intimidated.”
Seonghyeon’s ears tinged red at the abrupt compliment. “What? That’s so random.”
“Is it? I’m sorry then, but it’s the truth,” Woochan laughed. “I also heard you’re close with Keonho.”
Seonghyeon tensed, stiffly turning to stare at Woochan’s face with a confused smile. “I mean, sure. Why?”
Woochan shyly rubbed the back of his neck, his lips twitching up into a jovial smile. A smile of a guy who was completely and utterly besotted. “Well, it’s just that Keonho and I have started dating. I thought he would have mentioned it to you. I'm guessing he didn’t then?”
Seonghyeon stopped walking, his heart sinking to his feet. “What?”
“Oh, sorry, I thought you knew,” Woochan uncomfortably said, eyeing him strangely. “Did I—”
“Sorry, I’ve got to go,” Seonghyeon hastily choked out, speed walking away from Woochan in the opposite direction, ignoring Woochan’s shocked face, and weaving past other students. He kept his gaze fixated on the floor until he reached the library across campus. He walked over to a vacant table and flopped down onto the seat, throwing his backpack onto the ground. Seonghyeon’s hands trembled when he pulled out his phone to text Martin.
seonghyeon:
did you know?
future prod martin:
wow hey to u too. and know what? 😳
seonghyeon:
keonho and woochan have started dating 😭
i fucked up martin
i’m such a dumb stupid idiot fuck
future prod martin:
WHAT
OF COURSE NOT
i’m just finding out now
fuck
i’m so sorry i had no idea.
wtf????
bro wdym u fucked up? and don’t say that shit about urself
hold on
i’m coming to u. where u at?
seonghyeon:
library.
Seonghyeon set his phone down on the table, dropping his head on his folded arms. He felt a hand ruffle his hair and sat up to see Martin walking to sit on the opposite side of the table. He propped his sunglasses onto the top of his head, pushing strands of his blonde hair away from his face to reveal his bare forehead.
“That’s fucked. I’m genuinely so sorry, Seonghyeon,” Martin genuinely looked upset, empathising with Seonghyeon. “I thought Keonho didn’t even like Woochan. That’s what he told me. I’m seriously confused.”
“Well, it’s probably my fault,” Seonghyeon shakily said, on the verge of a mental breakdown. “After you left yesterday, when I was walking with Keonho, he told me he thought we were in a…talking stage sort of? And I ended up accidentally rejecting him.”
Martin blinked at him, slightly leaning forward to hear him better. He frowned. “Dude, no way. He basically set the stage for you.”
Seonghyeon slapped his hands onto his face, throwing his head back in frustration. “I know. I can’t believe I said that to him. Martin, you should have seen his face. It’s like I told him I murdered his puppy, Cookie.”
“Okay, that’s bad,” Martin’s voice was gravelly serious. “But technically, it’s not your fault. I thought you guys were friends, too? Well, obviously, I know you have a thing for him, but from an outsider perspective, anyone would assume that, right?”
“I mean, I’ve never told him directly that I wanted to get to know him in a romantic sense? I have no idea how he assumed that without me saying anything,” Seonghyeon groaned, irritated. “I can’t believe he’s dating Woochan now. How the fuck am I supposed to compete with that?”
“Look, just come to the Saturday thing tomorrow. Have a few drinks and get to someone else for now,” Martin reached over the table to squeeze Seonghyeon’s hand reassuringly. “Someone like Sangwon, maybe? You know he’s still got a huge crush on you. Maybe getting to know someone else will help you feel better.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Seonghyeon weakly smiled. I don’t want anyone else if they’re not Keonho.
────
Seonghyeon sat on the edge of the bed, in his dimly-lit bedroom, the One Wish Willow box in his trembling hands. His eyes assessed the rules written in tiny red fine print at the back of the box. One rule caught his attention, sending a chill down his spine.
Once a wish is made, it cannot be undone, reversed, or repeated. Snapping additional twigs will not alter your original wish.
He nervously breathed, hesitantly pulling the brittle and chalky black twig-like branch out of the box. He held both ends with each hand and shut his eyes before opening his mouth to say:
“I wish Keonho loved me more than anyone else in the entire world.”
Snap.