Chapter Text
Lunch at the Faculty of Arts was never peaceful.
Someone was carrying a giant canvas through the cafeteria, another student was chasing a runaway roll of paper across the floor, and a heated argument had somehow broken out over whether abstract art counted as "real art."
In the middle of the chaos sat three students who somehow made the cafeteria even louder.
Pae happily stuffed a piece of fried chicken into his mouth.
Jamie stole another piece from Pae's plate without asking.
Duang sighed.
Loudly.
Nobody reacted.
He sighed again.
Still nothing.
On the third sigh, Pae finally looked up.
"...Are you dying?"
Duang looked heartbroken.
"I wish."
Jamie didn't even lift his eyes from his phone.
"He saw Qin today."
Pae nodded.
"That's nice."
Duang let out another dramatic sigh.
"It would've been."
"...Would've?"
"I was going to talk to him."
"What stopped you?"
Duang buried his face in both hands.
"...His friends."
Pae blinked.
"Kim and Tong?"
Duang nodded pitifully.
"I got nervous."
Jamie finally looked up.
"They were just standing there."
"I know!"
"So?"
"I don't know!"
Jamie stared.
"..."
"..."
"You're unbelievable."
Pae couldn't help laughing.
"You've liked Qin for a months."
Jamie corrected. "2 months."
"And you still haven't confessed."
Duang pointed accusingly at Jamie.
"You make it sound easy!"
"It is easy."
"No, it isn't!"
Jamie casually shrugged.
"Walk over."
"Okay..."
"Say hi."
"Okay..."
"Ask Qin to have lunch."
"..."
Duang's shoulders slowly slumped.
"...I can't."
Pae sighed.
"Why not?"
"What if he says no?"
"He won't."
"What if Tong thinks I'm weird?"
Pae frowned.
"...Why would Tong think you're weird?"
"I don't know!"
"What if Kim laughs?"
"Kim doesn't even laugh that much."
"What if—"
Jamie raised a hand.
"Stop."
Duang stopped talking.
Jamie looked completely serious.
"You've invented an entire disaster that hasn't happened."
"..."
"...Maybe."
Pae reached over and patted Duang's shoulder.
"You worry too much."
"I know."
"But I can't help it."
---
The three sat quietly for a moment. Jamie suddenly snapped his fingers.
"I have an idea."
Pae immediately frowned.
"...I don't like that sentence."
"It's brilliant."
"It's never brilliant."
"It is this time."
Jamie leaned forward with an evil grin.
"If Tong is the reason you're nervous..."
Duang nodded eagerly.
"...then make Tong busy."
Silence.
Pae slowly looked at him.
"...Busy?"
Jamie smiled wider.
"Exactly."
"How?"
Jamie turned.
Very.
Very.
Slowly.
Toward Pae.
Pae pointed at himself.
"...No."
"I haven't said anything yet."
"You don't need to."
"Pae."
"No."
"Listen first."
"No."
Jamie rested his chin on one hand.
"What if.....you flirt with Tong?"
Pae nearly dropped his spoon.
"...Excuse me?"
Duang's eyes slowly grew wider.
"...Wait."
Jamie's grin became even bigger.
"It'll work."
Pae stared at him as though he'd finally lost his mind.
"It absolutely won't, think about it."
Jamie counted on his fingers.
"I'm out."
"Why?"
"Because Tong knows I flirt with everyone."
"True."
"So he won't believe me."
"Makes sense."
Jamie pointed at Pae.
"But you..."
Pae already knew where this was going.
"...No."
"You've got the face."
"What face?"
"The harmless face."
Pae frowned.
"The cute face."
"No."
"The innocent face."
"No."
"The face that says 'I definitely return lost wallets.'"
"I do return lost wallets!"
Jamie snapped his fingers.
"Exactly."
Duang gasped.
"...He's right."
Pae slowly looked from Jamie......to Duang......then back to Jamie.
"I need better friends."
Duang grabbed Pae's arm dramatically.
"Please!"
"No."
"I'll buy dessert!"
"No."
"I'll finish your color theory assignment!"
"No."
Jamie's grin was becoming impossible to look at.
"You don't even have to mean it."
"Still no."
"Just ask him out."
"No."
"One date."
"No."
"One coffee."
"No."
"One smile."
"...Absolutely not."
Duang lowered his head.
"...I'll cry."
Jamie looked at Pae.
"Five."
Pae blinked.
"What?"
"He'll start crying in five seconds."
"Four..."
"Three..."
Duang sniffed.
"Two..."
His eyes immediately became watery.
Pae groaned.
"...You're both terrible."
"So that's a yes?"
"..."
"..."
Pae covered his face.
"No!"
---
"What's there to no?"
The cheerful voice came from behind them.
The three froze.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
They turned around.
Tong stood there with his bag and beside him were Qin and Kim.
Judging by the amused look on Kim's face...
They had arrived at exactly the wrong or perhaps right moment.
Tong tilted his head.
"I thought I heard my name."
Nobody answered.
Not even a squeak.
Tong looked at the three silent art students before his eyes landed on Pae.
"...So."
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"You want to ask me out?"
Pae's brain completely shut down.
"I..."
Nothing came out.
Tong waited for a few seconds.
Then chuckled softly.
"If it's for coffee..."
He looked directly at Pae.
"...I don't mind."
With that, he smiled politely at the three of them.
"We'll leave you to your lunch."
He turned and walked away with Qin and Kim before anyone managed to say a single word.
Silence.
Complete silence.
Jamie was the first to move.
He slowly turned toward Pae.
"...Well."
Duang was still frozen.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Jamie was the first to recover.
He slowly reached across the table....and pinched Pae's cheek.
"Ouch!"
"So you're alive."
Pae slapped his hand away.
"What was that for?"
"I wanted to make sure you hadn't died."
"I almost did!"
Duang suddenly grabbed both of Pae's shoulders.
"Pae!"
"What?!"
"He said yes!"
"He didn't!"
"He literally did!"
"He said he didn't mind coffee!"
"Exactly!"
"THAT DOESN'T COUNT!"
Jamie burst out laughing.
"It definitely counts."
Pae buried his face in his arms.
"I've ruined my life."
---
The rest of lunch consisted of Jamie refusing to let the topic die.
"So..."
"No."
"What are you wearing?"
"No."
"You should buy new clothes."
"No."
"You own anything besides oversized hoodies?"
"No."
Duang nodded seriously.
"He's right."
Pae slowly looked up.
"Whose side are you on?"
"Our side."
"There is no 'our side!'"
"There is now."
Jamie grinned.
"Congratulations."
"On what?"
"Your first date."
Pae threw a napkin at his face.
---
The following morning...
The Faculty of Arts studio was unusually quiet.
Mostly because everyone was exhausted after staying up all night to finish projects.
Pae stood in front of his easel, absentmindedly mixing paint.
His brush hadn't touched the canvas in nearly ten minutes.
"...Blue."
He added more yellow.
The paint became green.
Jamie walked over, looked at the palette, then at Pae.
"...You're making leaves."
"I was trying to make the sky."
Jamie nodded.
"As expected."
Pae sighed.
"Don't start."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were thinking it."
"I was."
Pae groaned.
---
Duang suddenly came running into the studio, completely out of breath.
"Pae!"
Jamie looked up.
"...Why are you running?"
"I saw Qin!"
Jamie blinked.
"...Again?"
"Again!"
"And?"
"I waved!"
Pae smiled.
"See? That's progress."
Duang puffed out his chest proudly.
"He waved back."
"Great."
"...Then I ran away."
Silence.
Jamie slowly closed his eyes.
"...Of course you did."
"I panicked!"
"You waved first!"
"I know!"
"So why run?"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
Pae laughed so hard he almost dropped his brush.
---
By lunchtime… The three had migrated outside, sitting beneath a large tree between the Art and Music buildings.
Jamie lay flat on the grass.
Pae sketched absentmindedly in his notebook.
Duang sighed for what had to be the hundredth time.
Jamie finally sat up.
"Enough."
"Huh?"
"We're ending this today."
Duang blinked.
"Ending what?"
"Your cowardice."
"I am not—"
"You are."
Jamie pointed toward the main pathway.
"There."
The three looked up.
Across the courtyard… Qin, Kim, and Tong were walking together, chatting after class.
Jamie grinned.
"Perfect timing."
Duang immediately looked away.
"I can't."
"Too late."
Jamie stood.
"What are you doing?"
Jamie grabbed Duang's wrist with one hand and Pae's with the other.
"Jamie."
"No."
"Jamie."
"No complaints."
"Jamie."
"We're going."
"WHERE?!"
Jamie pointed straight ahead.
"To say hello."
Both Pae and Duang froze.
"..."
"..."
"Absolutely not."
Unfortunately for them, Jamie was already dragging them across the courtyard.
Pae dug his heels into the ground.
"This is kidnapping!"
"It's friendship."
"It's illegal friendship!"
Students turned to watch the bizarre sight of one art student dragging two others across campus.
"What is Jamie doing now?" someone whispered.
"No idea."
"Looks entertaining."
---
Meanwhile, Tong noticed them first. He glanced toward the approaching trio.
"...Isn't that Pae?"
Kim looked over.
"Oh."
"...And Jamie. Duang's with them."
The closer the three art students got, the slower Duang walked.
Until… He stopped completely.
"I can't."
Jamie kept pulling.
"You can."
"I can't."
"You can."
"I'll faint."
"You won't."
"I will!"
Pae sighed.
"...He's actually going to faint."
-----
Tong watched the scene with obvious curiosity.
"...Are they coming over here?"
Kim shrugged.
"I think Jamie decided yes."
Tong laughed softly.
"I almost feel bad for them."
Pae finally broke free from Jamie's grip.
He straightened his shirt dramatically.
"...I'm leaving."
He turned, only to bump directly into someone.
"...Oh."
Tong.
Standing right in front of him.
"...Hi."
Pae's brain immediately disconnected.
Tong smiled.
"Hi."
A long silence followed.
Jamie looked between them.
Then...
Very quietly...
He stepped backward.
Kim noticed.
So did Qin.
Neither of them interrupted.
Leaving Pae and Tong standing awkwardly face to face.
Pae's ears slowly turned pink.
"...Hi."
Tong chuckled.
"You already said that."
"...Right."
"...Sorry."
Tong tilted his head slightly.
"So.... About that coffee."
Pae's eyes went wide.
Behind him, Jamie silently punched the air in victory.
Duang covered his mouth to stop himself from screaming.
“I… I… I remember, I need to feed my cat!” Pae shouted before running away!
“Paeeeee!” Both Jamie and Duang shouted as they ran after Pae
Kim looked at Qin and murmured, "I have a feeling, this semester is going to be very noisy."
Meanwhile, Tong chuckles seeing the Chaotic Trio running away in panic.