Work Text:
0. (PROLOGUE)
Jungwon has noted that there’s been something odd with his closest friend, Sunoo.
The older has been weirdly happy lately—not that Jungwon doesn’t want his best friend to be cheerful and smiley—but Sunoo has this specific look in his eyes whenever he’s giddy about something particular.
Jungwon has only seen this look occur one other time, and to state what it alludes to?
Love.
Kim Sunoo is in love.
Jungwon doesn’t have the gall to be offended that Sunoo didn’t tell him; people have lives, and his hyung is busy juggling his part-time job and his internship.
That didn’t mean Jungwon wasn’t still painfully curious.
“Hyung, have you been dating someone recently?” He asks casually while on facetime with Sunoo. He didn’t have the gall, but he did have the balls to just ask straight up.
Honesty is the best policy, right?
He hears Sunoo choke on the other line and raises an eyebrow, “..Sunoo-hyung?”
“Me? No-no-no, Jungwonie. I'm not dating anyone right now, promise.” Sunoo denies profusely, waving his hand in dismissal as a flush appears on his cheeks.
Even over call, Jungwon can see the signs of a liar. and Sunoo fits perfectly.
That promise must’ve been made with Sunoo’s fingers crossed behind his back.
“Hm, if you say so.” Jungwon mutters blankly, though his mind is already racking up a bunch of questions.
Questions of how to respect his hyung’s peace and stay out of it?
Of course not.
He was going to find out who Sunoo’s secret boyfriend was by any means.
And after tracking Sunoo’s routine based on his stories about his day, along with his Instagram mutuals, Jungwon has it: his list of four suspects.
SUNOO-HYUNG’S BOYFRIEND CANDIDATES (carefully chosen by yang jungwon!!):
1 — LEE HEESEUNG
2 — PARK JAY
3 — SIM JAKE
4 — NISHIMURA RIKI
Which one of the four could have stolen Sunoo’s longing, prideful heart?
1.
Naturally, Jungwon has to start with the most probable choice: Lee Heeseung.
Sunoo’s roommate and the only person who would be around him more compared to other people in his life.
And of course, what other setting could be the perfect breeding ground for a secret relationship than a place where everything could happen behind closed doors?
Jungwon is sure he has it immediately. Poor Sunoo thought that he could fool Jungwon.
With it making the most sense, Jungwon arranges a hangout at Sunoo’s apartment under the guise of ‘bonding time’ after Sunoo’s been so occupied with work.
Which is how Jungwon ends up at his target location.
Jungwon doesn’t have much to go off of at first—Heeseung seems to always be holed up in his room whenever Jungwon comes over, and whether it be coincidence or not, he can’t question another’s mancave activities.
Sunoo and Heeseung’s rooms are only a thin wall apart (easy to access each other, Jungwon notes), and around Sunoo’s bedroom, there are a few items to indicate that he’s in a relationship, but not that it’s necessarily Heeseung.
There's a hoodie in Sunoo’s hamper that Jungwon can tell it definitely doesn’t belong to him, and there’s a bouquet of Lego flowers on Sunoo’s desk that wasn’t there last time he came over.
Typical couple activities. Jungwon can practically smell the love roaming in Sunoo’s lungs.
“Should we wear face masks?” Sunoo asks, grabbing a fresh pack of face masks from his vanity where some of his other skincare is.
“You sure?” Jungwon tilts his head. It doesn't look like the usual brand Sunoo likes to purchase, and he isn’t even the type to share because those masks are stupidly expensive. “Am I just your guinea pig to test new products?”
“Kind of.” Sunoo says sheepishly, sitting down next to Jungwon on the edge of his bed. “These are a gift from Sunghoon-hyung. Remember when I told you about him spilling coffee on my blazer and slacks? This was his apology.”
“Eh? He’s such an asshole. Cheap face masks in return for ruining your entire outfit? That's stupid.” Jungwon disses Sunghoon easily, finding no remorse in his system.
From the way Sunoo has described Sunghoon, he seems like the spawn of Satan sometimes. constantly teasing Sunoo and poking fun at him during his internship.
He had always complained about this Sunghoon guy, especially during the start of his days as an apprentice, so of course Jungwon’s opinion about him is a little sour.
“..Yeah. A little.” Sunoo mumbles, but his whole heart isn’t in it.
“He said this scent would suit me though and that it reminded me of him.” He murmurs under his breath, looking down at the unopened box.
Unfortunately, Jungwon misses nearly everything Sunoo has said in response because he keeps getting distracted by Heeseung’s shouting on the other side of the wall.
Is this man insane? Jungwon can’t find a possible reason to be yelling that loud all the time—and besides, Sunoo mentioned once that he was into singing and producing. Wouldn't his vocal cords be turned to shit if this happened every day?
Sunoo seems to notice Jungwon spacing out and catches on.
“Ah, sorry about that.” He apologizes quickly. “Heeseung-hyung streams all the time, so he’s almost always gaming. I think it’s League or something he’s obsessed with.”
“So he's always screaming like that?” Jungwon nearly gawks at Sunoo because how has his best friend not lost his marbles yet?
“Half the time, yeah. It's kind of his day job nowadays because his fans are devoted donors and they like to see him raging apparently.” Sunoo shrugs, tearing open the package and pulling out two face masks for him and Jungwon to use.
That was the moment Jungwon instantly knew Heeseung could not have been the one.
He's seen his friend be enamored by countless people of all different variations, but even he knows Sunoo would not dip this low.
Even if he was actually dating Heeseung, Jungwon would not celebrate. In fact, he would tell Sunoo to break up (no offense, Heeseung!).
He mentally scratches Heeseung’s name off the list of people.
So much for being sure about it.
“I guess I'm desensitized to it now, but it was a little jarring when I first moved in.” Sunoo explains, his casual tone showing his lack of judgment. “Honestly, I don't really care as long as he pays his half of the rent.”
Jungwon nods, but he isn’t that convinced. He's certain his hyung has just lost enough of his hearing to the point where Heeseung’s screams must sound like little voices in his head.
Well, at least Jungwon knows what to buy Sunoo for Christmas. He'll be sure to get him some headphones with a good noise cancelling feature.
As he and Sunoo begin layering the face masks atop their skin, Jungwon begins thinking of the next person on his list.
It may not have been a good fate for Sunoo and Heeseung, but the man Jungwon suspects next will definitely know how to treat Sunoo well.
In fact, he already does.
2.
Okay, clearly Lee Heeseung wasn’t the code to decrypt Sunoo’s heart, but Jungwon now has a far better option in tow.
After all, it was stupid of him to waste time on Heeseung when Sunoo has had this rich boy taking him out shopping and to romantic dinners all the time.
Sugar baby alert!
The sugar daddy in question? Park Jay—this loaded guy who’s also the heir to his father's company, or so Jungwon has heard.
He has no clue how the two met, but the point now is that Sunoo’s getting spoiled immensely by him every day.
Jungwon can’t call or message Sunoo because he’s ‘at dinner with Jay-hyung! ><’ once a week.
If his best friend is going to constantly ghost him for a man, then so be it. At least the guy has more money on-hand than Jungwon has ever possessed within his entire lifetime.
Okay, Jungwon’s exaggerating. Sunoo doesn’t go out to these dinners that often, but he still stays on delivered for hours. Unacceptable!
Sunoo’s indirect compensation will be letting Jungwon uncover this boyfriend mystery, of course.
Jungwon’s “proof” of this relationship comes easier than expected. (Note to past Jungwon, from him in the future: it was not indeed a dinner from Jay, but a date from another man by the name of—)
“You didn’t have to bring my jacket right now. It could’ve waited until tomorrow.” Jungwon mutters, letting Sunoo into his flat.
“I was already out anyway, I just came from dinner.” Sunoo chuckles, toeing his shoes off.
Dinner, he says? Jungwon should’ve known Sunoo came from a romantic candlelight dinner with Jay or some bullshit like that.
“Do you mind if I use your restroom? The jacket’s in this bag.” Sunoo adds, holding up a brown paper bag and handing it over.
“Just go, you don’t have to ask for permission.” Jungwon shoos him away, putting the bag on his kitchen counter as he finds his windbreaker carefully folded at the top.
He takes it out, setting it aside when he notices there’s something else in the bag.
Upon further inspection, it doesn’t take Jungwon long to recognize it as a peach plushie. He looks at the tag—a jellycat—and cocks his head.
A present from Jay? Sunoo isn’t the type to spend his money on plushies often, especially if it’s just a peach. He probably would’ve gotten a fox or ditto from pokemon.
Not to mention that jellycats aren’t necessarily the cheapest brand of stuffed toys out there. Well, if it came from Jay, it probably would’ve been bought without the bat of an eye.
Though, the only person he’s ever heard compare Sunoo to a peach is Sunghoon from his internship. He remembers Sunoo telling him he got annoyed because Sunghoon kept saying he wanted to squish his cheeks because of how much they looked like the particular fruit.
Even Jungwon himself didn’t notice it until Sunoo brought it up that day. Now he sees the resemblance easily because of Sunghoon’s newfound opinion.
Then again, it’s not like Sunghoon could be the only person to ever compare Sunoo to that. Jungwon is pretty sure he and that Jay guy have the same surname, it’s just the similar thoughts coming from their relative clans, that’s definitely it.
He hears the toilet flush and quickly puts the plushie back into the paper bag, pretending to have been on his phone the whole time when Sunoo comes in.
“Thank you, Jungwonie. I'll text you when I get home.” Sunoo grins, getting ready to leave again.
Jungwon watches him go, his conspiracy theory only growing larger in his head.
Yeah, Sunoo’s definitely got something going on, whether it’s Jay or not.
Already completely convinced Jungwon has already solved the big question in his head, he doesn’t go out of his way to try to investigate any further.
Thus the real answer comes to him.
“Are you free tomorrow? We should hit a cafe run, there’s this new one near my place with good pastries.” Jungwon asks, on call with Sunoo yet again as he gets ready to sleep.
“Ah.. sorry, Jungwon. I have plans already.” Sunoo winces over the line, putting his hands together as an apology.
“Out with Jay-ssi, right?” Jungwon deadpans, already knowing where this is going. Well, if Sunoo already had plans with his boyfriend, it’s not like he could do anything about it.
“Don't say it like that, it makes it sound like we’re dating.” Sunoo shudders, and at the same time, Jungwon’s hypothesis completely falls apart. “I’ve been helping him plan his proposal to his girlfriend, that’s why I’m with him sometimes. It's to choose a gift and pick a spot, the dinners were a thank you.”
“..His girlfriend? Oh, that’s cute.” Jungwon laughs nervously.
So it seems that the shopping dates and the romantic dinners were actually gift-planning and gratitude dinners. No romance or sexy fun, just platonic help rooted in friendship.
Ugh, Sunoo’s a good friend and Jay’s just a man in love with his girlfriend.
Not a sugar baby alert. Not one bit.
Damn it, Jungwon would’ve actually really preferred having a best friend with a nepo baby as his boyfriend!
3.
Maybe Jungwon’s intuition was off with the first two, but he’s definitely got the answer now.
Sure, he may have only found out about this person through Sunoo’s instagram following and it could turn out to be a bit of a stretch, but it still counts plenty if you ask Jungwon.
Sim Jake—who Jungwon actually recognizes as a model for one of his favorite brands of jelly—was Sunoo’s classmate while he was taking his herbal medicine course.
And while that class is done now, Jungwon’s sure that they’ve stayed in touch after.
Jungwon didn’t pay attention to it at the time because he didn’t suspect Sunoo of being in a relationship then, but Sunoo would always talk about how he isn’t lonely during that herbal class despite it not being related to his major since he found someone who’s also in the same boat.
That someone’s name being Jake. Jungwon doesn’t think that Sunoo knows more people of that name other than Sim Jake.
Besides, Jake models, has interests in herbal medicine regardless of his major like Sunoo, and seems like a generally nice guy if he walks Sunoo to his classes.
Of course his best friend would date a catch like Jake! No brainer, Jungwon has it now.
He isn't really sure how to go about getting evidence for this one since the one thing that tied them together is gone. It's summer and Sunoo’s first classes as a sophomore don’t start until October.
Should he just go with the flow and call the case closed?
Instead of Jungwon going out to prove whether Jake could be Sunoo’s boyfriend or not, the answer comes to him first.
It started off as him and Sunoo going on to that cafe he was talking about while Jungwon was still under the influence that Jay was involved in Sunoo’s love life.
They were both catching up on small details and plans coming up soon over cute pastries.
“You know, I realized that Chuseok is way sooner than I remembered on the phone with my mom the other day. But seriously, I can't wait to fly home and eat my mom’s cooking.” Sunoo says, his eyes lighting up as he scoops up another bite of his mint chocolate pie.
Jungwon hums, nodding. “It's only a month away now.” He comments, though he chuckles at Sunoo’s bright expression. “You're super excited to eat a meal from your mom, huh?”
“Of course. I miss her homemade injeolmi.” Sunoo huffs before perking up, “actually, I think Sunghoon-hyung would like them a lot, he eats all types of rice cake dishes at work.”
Jungwon tilts his head. Sunghoon again? Not that Sunoo can’t talk about his coworker but he feels like that name always comes up in conversation.
“When he eats the plump ones, he tells me that he’s basically biting into my cheeks. Whatever that means.” Sunoo continues, and it clicks for Jungwon.
“He's so weird, he needs to get off your back.” Jungwon clicks his tongue. Whenever Sunoo talks about Sunghoon, it’s always about the odd comments or things he says to Sunoo.
He always comes up in conversation because he’s a vile piece of scum that needs to rot.
(Perhaps Jungwon’s perception of Sunghoon is a little foggy.)
“Anyway, so you are flying back home this year?” Jungwon switches the topic, remembering that Sunoo was so swamped with work he couldn’t get a chance to go to his hometown last year.
“Definitely. Me and Jake-hyung are probably gonna go back to Suwon together.” Sunoo nods.
Wait a second. Jake? as in Sim Jake? As in Sunoo’s—alleged—-boyfriend?
Jungwon knew they were dating but he didn’t think that Jake was on the ‘meeting the parents’ stage already!
“Y-You and him?” Jungwon stammers, unable to hold back the surprise in his face.
“Ah, I forgot to tell you! I found out that we were actually second cousins a few months ago, and now my mom’s making me drag him to Suwon with me so his family and mine can have one big celebration.” Sunoo explains.
Jungwon can practically feel his soul leaving his body.
Not only did he accuse Sunoo and Jake of dating without any actual proof, he accused cousins of dating each other.
Yikes.
“That's cool,” is the only thing that Jungwon can force out of his mouth, putting on a weak smile.
Jungwon doesn’t particularly think Sunoo swings that way with incest.
He’s wrong again, but he’ll gladly take the defeat as long as it means that Sunoo isn’t dating one of his family members, second cousins or not.
4.
This might be the final person on Jungwon’s list, but that doesn’t mean there’s any less of a chance of love! Best for last, that’s what they say, right? Best—as in the best probability!
He’s actually not quite sure why this person hadn’t crossed his mind before Jay or Jake, but the point is, he’s got it now.
Sunoo’s fellow coworker at his part-time job at their local cafe: Nishimura Riki.
Workplace relationships can be fairly common, maybe Sunoo just ended up having a cute coffee shop love story.
And no, Jungwon is not just basing this off of their forced proximity like he did with Jake, he’s better than that now.
After all, what other intention could there be for taking a poor, stranded coworker home in the rain than a romantic one?
No, Jungwon has not heard of people who do things for the pure of heart. Being nice and having morals? What is that? Foreign concept, sorry!
Besides, the drive to Sunoo’s apartment and the cafe he works at is actually quite far (Jungwon learned that the one time he drove Sunoo there). Gas isn’t cheap these days, so obviously the action came out of Riki’s endless love.
How Riki ended up on the list started off as Jungwon teasing Sunoo for being so confident for not bringing an umbrella, only for it to begin pouring as soon as Sunoo’s shift ended.
wonwon!
i told u to bring an umbrella dummy
but did u get home ok? ;-;
the walk from the cafe to the nearest subway is a little far
sunsun-hyung!
dont rub it in my face pls its a sensitive topic
but yes i did get home okay ㅠㅠ
riki offered to drive me and i would be a dumbass
to say no
wonwon!
?
riki
ur coworker with the weird kiss tattoo
sunsun-hyung!
that is indeed him
im actually super grateful bc the rain rn is HEAVY
This is where Jungwon’s suspicions begin.
wonwon!
but the drive to your apt from the cafe is lowk far
riki drove 45 mins for you ??
sunsun-hyung!
why else do you think im grateful??
it wasn’t that awkward honestly bc he listened
to music the whole time i worked on my co-project
with sunghoon-hyung
Well, of course it wouldn’t be awkward if this man was your secret boyfriend now, wouldn’t it?
wonwon!
i see
thats great hyung (..◜ᴗ◝..)
Jungwon was initially planning to innocently “visit” Sunoo at the cafe coincidentally while he and Riki had the same shift and study their dynamic, much like he had previously done with Heeseung.
But the universe very soon tells Jungwon that he should’ve crossed Riki off that list long, long ago.
“Now I have to train new hires myself because Riki’s moving back to Japan." Sunoo huffs.
It was more anticlimactic than Jungwon had hoped, the notice just being part of another one of him and Sunoo’s mundane conversations.
The original thought was: Huh, I wonder how Sunoo’s gonna fare with long distance.
Jungwon would get his answer soon.
“What? Do you know why?” Jungwon tilts his head.
“Oh yeah, he actually told me. It was the least he could do after leaving. Traitor.” Sunoo hisses, then poises his face back into a smile. “He was only here for a dance exchange program and now that it’s ended, he’s going back to Japan as soon as he can to reunite with his boyfriend.”
Boyfriend. Boyfriend in Japan. Boyfriend in Japan = not Sunoo.
Someone might as well start throwing tomatoes at Jungwon for how utterly wrong he’s been with all four of these men he’s suspected of being in a relationship with Sunoo.
“It's super sweet, right? I can't even be pissed at him for leaving me with the trainees.” Sunoo chuckles, and Jungwon has to force a nod. “He must've missed his boyfriend a lot. I could never do long distance.”
Thanks, Sunoo, Jungwon thinks. At the very least I have my answer to your opinions on an LDR. Yay.
After that whole interaction, Jungwon scraps the boyfriend narrative completely. What was he even thinking? Basing Sunoo’s relationship status over a look in his eyes, what a joke.
Jungwon hopes that someone in his life will prevent him from ever becoming anything remotely close to a conspiracy theorist ever again because clearly that life isn’t cut out for him.
Besides, who needs a man to feel happy? Sunoo could have been thriving off of his independence and Jungwon completely chalked it up to love.
How foolish. Put him in a jester hat at this point.
+1
Jungwon then realizes that sometimes in life, it’s best not to meddle in other people’s affairs (no matter how curious you are).
He has no more people to go off of and maybe, he was plainly wrong. It happens sometimes, and Jungwon is more than man enough to admit it. Perhaps Sunoo has been single and ready to mingle all this time.
Jungwon proceeds his life as normal and makes sure to stop himself from overanalyzing Sunoo’s plans.
He is perfectly content as he is and takes the situation as a learning curve.
Well, that is until a cute eating out with Sunoo turns into the answer that Jungwon had been seeking this entire time.
When Sunoo’s phone lights up with a notification while he takes a bathroom break, Jungwon isn’t at fault for looking.
It’s right in front of him, all flashy and practically begging to be read.
Besides, what if it were an emergency? He'd rather be nosy than sorry.
Jungwon vows to only look at the contact name and that’s it. He’ll base everything off of that, just the name.
His eyes flick to the phone near him, and the name is telling already.
hoonie <3
Hoonie? as in… Sunghoon “hoonie”? Park Sunghoon, the weirdo at Sunoo’s internship?
Jungwon may not know much about love, but he knows that a heart beside a person’s name has to mean something.
Wait, no! This is exactly how Jungwon ends up in these conspiracy rabbit holes that he can’t leave until he’s reached all the dead ends.
Hearts could mean anything, really. It could’ve been a dare, it could be someone entirely different with a ‘hoon’ in their name, hell, they could be related like Jake and Sunoo were.
That's right, everything is platonic if you squint.
…But Jungwon is still as curious as ever.
He tells himself that seriously, really, after this, he’ll stop snooping.
Jungwon lifts his head up to make sure Sunoo wasn’t out of the bathroom already before tapping his friend’s phone screen and swiping up to reveal Sunoo’s latest notification.
hoonie <3
hi baby
you’re still out with jungwon, right?
you should come over to mine after
im so pent up :( i need you to…
The message cuts itself off after that, but Jungwon thinks he would perish right there on the spot dare he reads another line of Sunghoon’s filth.
He’s seen enough. In fact, he’s seen enough to not meddle in Sunoo’s life for the next ten years.
Jungwon needs some time to reflect. The half-eaten portion of carbonara in front of him doesn’t look that appetizing anymore.
Sunoo finally sits back down beside Jungwon, wondering why his friend looks battle-scarred.
“You're dating that Sunghoon guy, right?” Jungwon blurts out. He needs some confirmation that Sunoo will hopefully provide him with this time around.
Sunoo blinks twice, pausing until he smiles sheepishly. “Yeah. but I thought you knew already when you asked me about a boyfriend and that you were just teasing. Oh, unless you weren’t..?”
“No, I did. I knew the whole time—” lie detected. “—but I was just thinking it over and like, you always complain about Sunghoon making fun of you all the time. Didn't you call him your rival a few months back?”
Sunoo bursts into a fit of giggles, seeing through Jungwon’s fib immediately. “Just in the department. Dating between employees—trainees or not—is prohibited, and yeah, Sunghoon-hyung’s pretty annoying then, but he’s really sweet when it’s just the two of us.”
Yuck. Jungwon’s best friend has grown smitten over a man. Sunoo is in far too deep for Jungwon to even intercept (not that he needs to, especially now that Sunghoon kind of just sounds like the average dude).
So all these coincidences that seemed to fit the narrative that Sunoo was dating probably all led back to Sunghoon and Jungwon just got lost along the way.
Huh.
In the end, Jungwon is just happy that Sunoo has seemed to find someone that makes him effortlessly happy.
“I see. That’s cute.” Jungwon nods, a little nervously. “..You should bring your phone with you from now on during bathroom breaks. And maybe everywhere else for that matter.”
Sunoo’s eyebrows furrow, “huh? What are you talking about?”
He picks up his phone out of the interest that Jungwon has piqued from it, proceeding to blush furiously when he sees the preview of Sunghoon’s racy message.
“Shit, I’m sorry if you saw that, Won, really, I'm so-so-so sorry.” Sunoo buries his face in his hands out of sheer embarrassment. His stupid boyfriend just had to go text him that right now.
“No worries, just a heads-up for the future.” Jungwon chuckles along weakly, giving Sunoo an awkward pat on the back.
Jungwon finds it a little ironic that despite Sunghoon being Sunoo’s lover this whole time, he never thought to even add the man to the list.
To be fair, he was well under the impression that Park Sunghoon was just a weirdo at Sunoo’s internship with no respect for others. How was Jungwon supposed to know that it was him all along showering Sunoo with affection?
Going from roommates, people who are taken, and even Sunoo’s relative, Jungwon just was trailing himself to go in circles with no actual way to stop. He was never gonna figure that out on his own.
Moral of the story? Maybe Jungwon should stray away from being nosy.
After all, curiosity killed the cat (the cat in question being Jungwon’s formerly pristine dignity).