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Joshua likes peace.
He’s not the kind of guy to seek out trouble or mess with the wrong crowd for the sake of having a laugh or a good time. He knows better than to do anything of the sort; his mother has taught him better than that. Rather, he likes to live a quiet life with a simple routine, with the added addition of a spontaneous event that occurs once in a blue moon, like a party or clubbing. He likes a peaceful life, not a boring one.
He’s also not the kind of guy to drink just to get drunk. The adrenaline of having heat go down your throat is nice for a second, but after it just leaves a bitter taste inside of him that even water can’t wash off. Plus, he prefers to live in the moment, have a good time with his friends, and engrave the moment in his mind to look back on. Not in the bathroom, screaming Bloody Mary.
And finally, Joshua isn't the kind of guy to be worrying over a man. He hates that shit with the entirety of his being. He cannot fathom how people willingly clutch their phone like a lifeline simply because their significant other left their house, went somewhere unrecognizable—or worse, turned their location off. It’s ridiculous.
Don’t get him started on the constant troubles people seem to face because their partner followed people of the opposite sex. Or the fact that some people restrict their partner from going out to places without them. With the added bonus of how they also can't talk to the opposite sex or be friends with them? Hell—he’s seen people worry all night on the phone because their partner won’t answer the phone.
To cut it simple, Joshua likes a peaceful life. He doesn't like to find trouble for the hell of it. He doesn't like to get drunk because it’ll make his outing more fun. He doesn't like to have a man blowing up his phone for the most mundane things. He likes peace. Point blank period.
But now he has a man blowing up his phone, and not for the reasons he just listed.
Seokmin ( *ˊᵕˋ) sent you a Snap
Joshua physically recoils at the sight of the notification.
For almost two weeks now, a man—Seokmin—who he vaguely registers as the guy who sits in the front of his Calculus class, has been snapping him.
At first, Joshua hadn't minded. Yeah, he’s never actually talked to Seokmin other than the first day of class, when their professor wanted them to introduce themselves to each student in the class—extremely tedious and annoying—but he got a free participation grade, so he’ll take it.
He barely remembers what Seokmin even said to him. He remembers Seokmin’s introduction—Lee Seokmin, 23, majoring in mathematics with a minor in photography. But he doesn’t remember him for that specifically—no, he doesn’t. He remembers Seokmin as the guy with the way too baggy jorts and forehead-revealing hairstyle, who speaks very softly and timidly, an introverted trait.
While he found his occasional stutters endearing, he didn’t bother to make any more small talk than he had to once their professor said they were done with the ‘easiest activity of the semester.’ So, he promptly turned around and headed back to his seat, leaving Seokmin standing with a question hanging on the tip of his tongue.
So yeah. He didn’t mind; he thought being friends was fine, even if they weren’t ever going to talk. But it’s been well into the semester now, and Seokmin is barely deciding to add him on Snapchat and additionally ruin the peaceful life he lives by to a T.
And he’s ruining his peace in the matter of being way too persistent and oblivious for his own good. Which only adds more fuel to the fire as Joshua can’t use that as a valid reason to be pissed the fuck off.
The day Seokmin added him, Joshua added him back without thinking too much about it. The guy from his calculus class added him after only one conversation at the beginning of the semester. That’s cool. He won’t ever talk to him properly, but if he ever missed class and needed notes, he could totally send a casual message to Seokmin, to which he’d reply with the notes, and that would be it.
Then the next day was when all hell broke loose.
Seokmin ( *ˊᵕˋ) sent you a Snap
It was a dual photo of Seokmin, on the left, Seokmin displaying a small pout, hair slightly tousled, accompanied by his glasses that framed his face a little too well, but Joshua digresses; and on the right, there was a notebook filled with derivatives, and were those tear stains?
The photo was captioned with: do you understand how to do this?
Now, Joshua knew how to do it. He’s great at math; it's the only thing he excels at, to the point he decided to major in it. Something like derivatives is child’s play to him; he can do it with his eyes closed. So, yes, he can do it and understands it beautifully. But call Joshua an ass for this; he really didn’t want to get up from his comfortable, cozy bed to open up his notebook with his step-by-step solutions for Seokmin.
no i don’t… i’m sorry
Joshua gets sent back an ‘aww :(( thank you anyways!’
And if Joshua woke up almost an hour late the next day for class, he’d deny it. This definitely wasn’t his punishment from the universe for being an ass to a person who didn’t deserve it. No. Just something that happens to the best of people.
Then the next day, Joshua received another snap.
Again, it’s Seokmin with dual camera. On the left, Seokmin is looking down at his phone; hair flying with the wind, carefully disheveling his hair; he doesn’t have his glasses on this time, and he seems to be barefaced; the mole below his cheek is more prominent now; and his lips are curved into a small smile, which Joshua has to tear his gaze away from. On the right, there’s a small caboodle puppy, leaning into Seokmin’s hand seemingly rubbing its cheek.
This time, the photo is captioned with: isn’t she beautiful?
Now, Joshua is a dog person through and through. He loves dogs with his entire heart—as a little kid, he would always beg his mother for a dog, and she finally fulfilled his wish on his sixteenth birthday. Dogs are his favorite. What dog owner wouldn’t love dogs? And the breed Seokmin has with him is one of the most adorable kinds of dogs that he's ever laid eyes on, and Joshua absolutely loves puppies, so his heart is full of warmth and struck in awe. So, yes, he absolutely thinks Seokmin’s dog is beautiful.
And does Seokmin need to know that? Yes. He absolutely does need to.
yes, she’s very beautiful.
Seokmin’s reply comes quickly.
just like you (｡･･｡)
Joshua opts to ignore it. If you don’t see it, it doesn’t exist. And it works…for the most part.
The next time, it's not a snap, but a reply to his story.
Joshua had posted a simple selca of himself—in the car, phone raised slightly above and away, with his head leaned back against the seat. His hair was perfectly arranged to give a messy, but put-together kind of look, along with his layered outfit that seemed to resemble earthy colors, but it was fine. But it's not a Joshua selfie if he doesn't do his go-to photo pose—a wink for the camera like a sly fox. The cherry on top.
Immediately upon posting, Joshua is bombarded with messages—thirsts and playful comments alike. It’s flattering, seeing people take time out of their day to compliment him with some very creative word choices. But Joshua doesn’t like the attention, or does he need it; the reasons why he always leaves these people on seen. He knows he’s attractive; he doesn’t need anyone’s validation, especially when it comes from overly freaked out individuals who just want to fuck. No thank you.
After thirty minutes, Joshua’s phone has calmed down, which he is internally grateful for; he hated seeing a massive influx of Snapchat notifications appearing on the top of his screen. And he couldn’t afford to put his phone on do not disturb when he was in the middle of a group chat conversation. Meaning he had to put up with the notification banner popping up like crazy.
Seokmin ( *ˊᵕˋ) sent you a chat
Joshua holds back a groan and stops himself from rolling his eyes. He dreadfully opens up the notification, already expecting Seokmin to say something he’s already seen thousands of times before. But when the chat loads and he sees Seokmin’s message, he pauses for a moment. Caught of guard.
so beautiful (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)
Now, Joshua has seen various forms of the compliment before, usually in some freaky way that has never crossed his mind before, but it's a common occurrence now that he doesn't bat an eye at it. It’s his life now, and there’s nothing he can do about it.
But this message, this two-word message plus emoji, has him staring a little too long at his screen, dumbfounded.
This is already the second time that Seokmin compliments him, and in the most sincerest, adoring way possible, that Joshua just wants to hide underneath his blankets or scream into his pillow. Either or would suffice.
It’s cute. He’ll admit it. It’s cute of Seokmin to be pure and genuine with his intentions towards Joshua. He’s never had a man be this persistent and true with his behavior, and Joshua feels flattered. Truly, flattered. Like wow, you really hold me in high regard, and it makes me feel giddy. And not in a, ew, thank you I know, kind of way that he usually feels like. It’s…nice, overwhelmingly so.
But Joshua has to keep up appearances, solely for himself.
thank you for adding another compliment into the mass of hundreds
Seokmin, with good reason, leaves him on seen.
The next one takes longer to come, not like Joshua was keeping track or anything. But Seokmin would send him a snap every two or three days, except it's been five now, and he still hasn’t heard anything from Seokmin, and he’s growing concerned. What if something happened to him? What if he made him mad? Fuck. He fucked up, didn’t he?
But why should Joshua care? It’s not like he and Seokmin were dating or anything. Seokmin was just a classmate who found him attractive, just like any other person, and who was trying to capture Joshua’s attention through a series of endearing and cute snaps, not like how other people were doing.
But all of Joshua’s worries dissipate as he comes back into his room; settles into bed with a bowl of fruit; adorning a loose tank and sweats with his freshly washed hair. When he picks his phone up from his counter and sees a familiar notification on his phone, he rushes to open the message he was just sent.
Seokmin ( *ˊᵕˋ) sent you a Snap
Joshua feels his breath hitch the moment the photo Seokmin sent loads.
Seokmin is out at a bar; hair seemingly glowing under the golden light, and glossed from water; his fringe is messily styled to cover his forehead, but his features are still striking; his cheeks are tinged in a faint pink, a hand lazily covering his mouth, but Joshua can still see the cocky smile underneath, and Seokmin is winking at the camera.
Winking.
It’s hot, and seductive, and it pisses Joshua off to no end. He feels his throat, dry and aching for anything to ease the heat, and all Joshua can offer is a heavy gulp.
This time the photo is captioned with: did you miss me?
Joshua feels a flash of anger build up in his stomach and is quick to retaliate; he won’t let Seokmin one-up him, so he sends a snap back.
Joshua positions his phone slightly above his face; he shows himself lying down on his bed, head against his pillows, with his hair splaying beneath him. His bangs are disarrayed due to them being freshly washed, but he still rolls a string of hair between his thumb and pointer. His tank is low enough to show off his defined collarbones, and the angle barely catches his prominent chest. Joshua has a grape caught between his teeth, and he makes sure to wink for the photo for extra measure.
He makes sure to caption it: wouldn’t you like to know?
Seokmin replayed your Snap
At the notification, Joshua feels proud of himself. His wave of anger passed, and he feels giddy at the thought of making Seokmin aghast from the photo he sent him.
Fast forward to the present.
Seokmin ( *ˊᵕˋ) sent you a Snap
Now, after the stunt Joshua pulled a few days ago, he hadn’t heard from Seokmin at all, and he started to grow concerned again. Not like he would admit it to anyone, let alone to himself. Again, Joshua likes peace, and Seokmin is everything but that.
So he pushes down the feeling of anxiety in favor of worrying about the Calculus exam he needs to study for, as he hasn’t been paying attention lately due to a particular person that hasn’t fucking snapped him in days but he sees in class. Right smack in front when he walks in.
Great. Just great.
Joshua is trying to wrap his head around limits like his life depends on it, which it kinda does when he needs to finish the class with an A and this test weighs more than the previous ones. And he can’t think for shit. What a great time to slack off because of a guy, Joshua. A guy that is way too perfect for you and his own good combined. Lord, give him strength.
Joshua is just about understanding the concept of limits and everything that they come with when his phone buzzes. And curiosity kills the cat, as always, and he puts down his pencil and checks to see who wants to bother him when he’s already pissed off over math and a man he’s not dating.
Seokmin ( *ˊᵕˋ) sent you a chat
Joshua hastily opens the message only to be smacked straight across the face with some absolute nonsense that he physically recoils and throws his phone across his desk.
If Joshua was already pissed off, this was the nail in the coffin for anyone within a ten-mile radius of him.
The message reads: why do you hate me so much?
Lord. Every day someone has to test his already thinning patience tenfold. Every day he has to take a moment to breathe before he does anything irrational that could ruin the peaceful life he lives.
One of those liabilities being Seokmin, a major issue that he should’ve blocked the moment he started getting a little too persistent and subtly flirted with him way too much for Joshua’s sake.
So, he snaps. Literally.
He quickly types back a reply, one he doesn’t think twice about before sending: boy, shut up and stop complaining. send some biceps if you want to upgrade to my best friends list. i’m not in the mood. good fucking bye.
Joshua throws his phone back onto his desk and starts to drown himself back into studying. It works for a while. There’s no buzzing from his phone while he’s writing down notes and simply trying to keep up with the self-studying he’s trying to accomplish.
That is until he distantly feels his phone buzz once more, and like a moth to a flame, Joshua drops everything he’s doing just to check if Seokmin texted back.
Seokmin ( *ˊᵕˋ) sent you a Snap
Joshua opens the snap expecting another round of bullshit from Seokmin, but what his eyes land on once the snap loads, he has to pinch himself to make sure he’s not dreaming.
Seokmin sends him a snap of himself—well his body; the camera is positioned to only capture from his chest to a little below his hips; but on full display is Seokmin’s big, muscular bicep that’s definitely bigger than Joshua’s head, making Joshua gasp at the sight; then there’s Seokmin’s forearm, prominently veiny down to his hands, and Joshua looks around the room to see if anyone else was witnessing what he was.
Now, when Joshua sent that message, he was joking. He thought Seokmin would think he was an ass and would simply never talk to him again after asking for bicep photos to upgrade to an actual conversation with him. But as always, Seokmin is full of surprises, and he willingly sent a photo. A photo of his arm. Big, veiny, muscular, and big.
And Joshua wasn’t disappointed in the marvelous sight that was on full display for him. He was rendered speechless by Seokmin—a man he hadn’t really taken seriously and was ruining the peaceful life he enjoyed. But Joshua won’t lie and say he hadn’t been enjoying the ruckus that Seokmin had caused these previous weeks. It was… a nice change.
So, when Joshua accidentally closes the snap and immediately goes to replay the snap, he pretends as if his finger slipped. It’s not like he wanted to see the delicious arm that Seokmin was blessed with and fantasize about what said arm could do to him. Totally not.
And he definitely doesn’t save the photo to the chat or to his camera roll. Hell no. He doesn’t do anything of the sort. That’s not something Joshua does or would ever do. He’s not like that. He also doesn’t sit at his desk, math forgotten, in favor of staring at Seokmin’s arm for a while longer. Nope.
He does send a reply back: why didn’t you start with one of those before anything else?
i wanted to court you properly (◞‸◟；)