Chapter Text
“Oh, you’re finally awake?”
A good smell of fried eggs and bacon tickled his nose. Choi Han was already salivating at the delicious breakfast that was awaiting him. He rubbed his eyelids and yawned.
“Mmh…”
“If you don’t get up now, there will be nothing left for you.”
… Strange. Did his mom always talk like that? He summoned what little energy he had left and headed, still sleepy, towards the kitchen. A figure stood near the stove, humming a nostalgic tune. He naturally took the person in his arms and nuzzled against their neck similar to a child that needed to be pampered.
“Acting cute won’t get you a morning kiss every time you know.”
He received a light flick on the nose, then a hand affectionately caressed his cheek.
“Come here.”
Eh, what… That face with familiar features and those long vermillion hair reminded him of someone… He squinted hard and tried to find the piece of puzzle that might fit in the labyrinth of his memories.
W-Wait, wasn’t it—
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“C-Cale-nim?!”
Choi Han woke up with a start, head in the clouds, still half-absorbed in his earlier dream. Like a cotton candy… It was soft and sweet, he wondered if it would be the same in real life if they ever ki…
“Mr. Choi, did you finish your nap? Then you can solve this problem right.”
No, no what he was thinking. They were far from that stage. First, he should go to see him in his class, as promised. He’d been putting it off for a whole week because he lacked the courage… Maybe this dream was a sign for him to finally take the big step today!
“Psst—Earth to Choi Han.”
His table neighbor gave him a little nudge with his elbow. The raven-haired young man regained his composure and turned his attention back to the lesson. The math teacher glared at him sternly and tapped his ruler on the blackboard.
“Well, we’re all ears Mr. Choi or do you prefer to get some fresh air in the corridor?”
He scratched the back of his neck a bit embarrassed and clumsily opened his exercise book. He didn’t know what page they were supposed to be on. He should just be honest that he was thinking about the pretty cashier from the fast food place and utter that he didn’t have a clue for the answer.
“Er… The corridor please?”
The whole class burst into laughter, and the highschooler walked out to their applause. How embarrassing! But oh well, let’s just say it was a blessing in disguise. At least it gave time to mentally prepare himself before going to see his crush. He didn’t think he would be so deeply in love with someone just after seeing them once (he even imagined them living happily as a married couple, can you believe it?!) To be honest he wasn’t proud of it. He would like to put some words on why he was so infatuated with this person. He wanted to know more about his senior. Simple and stupid things like his favorite color or dessert. If Bud had never taken him there, he wouldn’t be so lost. At the same time, though … if that were the case, he would never have met him, so perhaps he should thank him instead?
… Yuck. Being indebted to this nerd with glasses? No way in hell. Besides —
DING DONG DING DONG ~ ♪
Oh. It was already the morning break? Time passed so quickly when he was lost in thought. Well, it was now or never. He had to hurry and go to the third-years’ floor. At this hour, people weren’t too tired from classes yet… It wouldn’t bother him that much if he paid him a little visit right?
“Here Choi Han, bring these papers to the staff room… Huh? Where did that brat go again!…”
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“Alright… You can do it.”
The highschooler took a deep breath to calm down and one final quick moment to straighten out his uniform. He hoped his hair wasn’t too much of a mess. He didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of his crush. Come on be brave and knock. No backing out now.
One… Two… Three…
CLACK
The door in front of him opened without warning and a third-year student, who was a head taller than him, appeared in the doorway.
“Mh? A freshman. What are you doing here little one, are you lost?”
Choi Han blushed. Okay, first of all, he … he wasn’t that “little”. Anyway, that was not important. He was not here to fight anyone about his height.
“Hello. I… I’m looking for someone.”
He glanced inside, his eyes naturally searching for a silhouette with vermillion hair. Damn it, he hoped he didn’t choose the wrong classroom, he had one-in-three chance of getting it right after all.
“Who, got a name?”
“C-Cale Henituse.”
Stay cool. Act it’s like normal that you’re here. Okay the stutter was quite lame but it wasn’t the end of the world!
“Eh… Are you his new errand boy? Unlucky bastard.”
E-errand boy? Uh, not at all why would he…
“Cale, someone’s here for you.”
However before he could clear the misunderstanding, the young girl turned around and called her classmate. The person in question with his head buried in his arms, reluctantly raised up. He was trying to catch up on a few minutes of sleep. Who dared interrupt his nap? He passed his hand through his hair with an irritated look and groaned:
“What.”
“Another one of your victims has come to seek revenge.”
“Haha very funny Hannah.”
Although the joke wasn’t too far from the truth. The innocent boy was indeed under the spell of the notorious Cale Henituse without him lifting one finger. In fact, the latter’s nonchalant appearance, having barely woken up (with disheveled hair and a grumpy face), only increased the tender affection he felt for him. He reminded him of his neighbor’s cat after its afternoon nap.
“I’m only half-joking, otherwise why would a first-year look for you.”
The redhead raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t wrong. Why would a baby first-year show up here? Especially to see him. They usually ran away as soon as they heard his name.
“Did he say what he wanted?” He asked, tilting his head slightly, a bit curious about who could be that mysterious junior.
“Nah, it’s not my business anymore. You deal with it.”
Tsk. Cale clicked his tongue and with a nonchalant stride, he made his way to the door. He hoped it wasn’t anything too complicated or that it wasn’t someone who had come to give him a good beating to avenge his friend over a misunderstanding. He honestly didn’t know about the extend of the rumors surrounding him, but did you see his scrawny arms? He had no fighting skills, okay? If he closed his eyes, it might just be a bad moment he had to get through. He let out an inner sigh and leaned against the frame, arms casually crossed over his chest.
“You need something?”
Feeling the gaze of his senior on him made Choi Han’s heart do a pirouette in his ribcage. He gulped nervously. He had decided to look for the pretty cashier and now that he was in the flesh in front of him… His head was empty. Get a grip, say something!
“I … uh… I just wanted to … um…”
Great, smooth. He was stammering like an idiot. Congrats, you really know how to make a good first impression!
“Oh, it’s you.”
It wasn’t difficult for the highschooler with vermillion hair to notice that it was the awkward student from last time that struggled to pick up what to eat at the fast food place (even his stutter was the same ha.) How cute.
“Uh yeah … it’s me.” The freshman’s face flushed slightly, a bit proud that he still recognized him after all this time.
“So?”
His crush stretched and yawned, then turned his attention back to him. The onyx pupils followed the movement by reflex before noticing he was acting like a weirdo. He internally scolded himself. Damn it, stop staring. He tried his best to muster his courage and utter a few words.
“I… Um…”
Unfortunately, he faltered. The sentences were all jumbled together in his head like mashed potatoes. He hated how easily he was thrown off balance around the handsome third year. The latter let out another small yawn feigning disinterest: the message was clear, he wanted to be everywhere but here.
“Spit it out already.”
The teenager with jet-black hair convulsively scratched his forearm and stammered with rosy cheeks:
“You… You said that I could come to see you last time so… Here I am?…”
Cale sketched a smile. How cute that he had followed his words to the letter like a fledgling that had just left its nest. He pushed himself off the door frame and closed the distance between them:
“So you came all the way here just to see me? Must have been horrible to navigate through the awful hallway leading to the third years’ lair.” He added in a teasing tone.
Choi Han stepped back reflexively, as if burned by the sudden proximity. U-Um… It was true that he had struggled to make his way here with curious eyes fixed on him, but it wasn’t as stressful as performing in front of spectators the ancestral sword art of his family during a festival.
“It… It was alright.” He replied, trying to keep his “cool kid” act.
“Did you get bullied on your way here? You did a good job reaching your destination.”
“I didn’t get bullied… Just a bit confused with the directions.” He uttered shyly, fidgeting with his fingers.
The redhead ruffled his hair. This punk oddly reminded him of the children at home. It was almost entertaining to watch how easy it was to make him flustered.
“You’re kind of cute, you know that?”
The junior became as red as a tomato, his crush just said he was cute. Him, cute. C-Cute. Thank you mom and dad for giving birth to me with this face!…
“So… Did you have anything else to say to me?”
“I-I…”
The ruby eyes observed him for a bit. Choi Han wondered if it was normal that his heart was beating so fast and that he was out of breath for so little. He promised to never poke fun at Bud’s made-up love stories with a stranger he saw only once in the streets ever again.
“Let me guess, you want to have a date with me?”
The sudden question took the poor boy completely by surprise, leaving him speechless, eyes wide like a priacanthus hamrur.
“A d-date?…” He finally managed to stammer, repeating the words like an old broken record.
He hadn’t expected this offer, in fact he aimed so low that the idea of having a date with his senior didn’t pop in his mind. Seeing him again was more than enough, even from several meters away. He wasn’t ready for anything else, NOT READY AT ALL.
“It’s not the case? Too bad, I was feeling kind of generous today and was planning to accept your demand.” The redhead continued, faking a hint of disappointment.
…
Ugh... He should have said yes instead of staying mute as a carp. On the other hand, though… He was rather relieved that he managed to resist the urge to agree immediately. Because even if it was his first love, he wasn’t a fool. He was aware that from the beginning Cale was having a blast teasing him. Although … to be honest he didn’t mind being led by the nose.
“I… I wasn’t planning to ask for a d-date. I just wanted to talk.”
“Then we did talk. Nice, good, superb right? Anyway I’m kind of busy right now so you won’t mind if I go back to my nap, will you?”
Once again, the rhythm of their conversation was guided by the young man with vermillion hair. He could only follow the flow like a fish caught in a trap. Choi Han stared at his crush in disbelief as he processed his blunt dismissal. He knew that it would be wise to leave and try his luck again another day but he was frustrated, extremely frustrated. What did he mean “talked”? They hadn’t discussed anything at all! He… He didn’t even learn what his favorite color was!
“Wait— ”
He caught his wrist and uttered the question that was tickling his tongue for days:
“W-What is your favorite color?”
His prisoner blinked, a bit surprised by the sudden interrogation and thought for a moment before giving an answer with a stoic face.
“I would say black.”
“Favorite dish?”
“A good steak cooked to perfection.”
“What about your all-time favorite dessert?”
“Apple pie.”
The rapid-fire round of questions went back and forth until he ran out of ideas. He swallowed his saliva and gathered some semblance of confidence to ask a final one:
"... And your i-ideal type?”
“Someone rich and older than me.”
The third year watched his junior’s face crumble upon hearing his last reply and did his best to prevent the corner of his lips from lifting. He liked him that much? It was kind of adorable. However there was nothing good coming out of falling in love with someone like him. Hanging out with a “delinquent” will surely tarnish his bright future. It was better to destroy any hope of a relationship blossoming between them right now. It was with this resolution in mind that he turned around and walked back to his desk in order to flop down lazily into his chair, completely disregarding the freshman. He closed his eyes and pretended to go back to sleep. But from underneath his shut eyelids he discreetly watched the figure standing near the classroom door.
The teenager with ebony hair looked at his senior in silence, stunned by the outcome of their conversation. Every fiber in his being was yelling at him to leave, move on and close this humiliating chapter of his life, like a first love of youth. But… Love has its reasons that reason ignores. It was already too late, he was right in the eye of the typhoon. He clenched his fists firmly and turned on his heel before shouting aloud:
“I’ll come back tomorrow as well Cale-nim!”
The redhead smirked as he heard the declaration. He was the stubborn type, huh? He wondered if he would really keep his word. But then again, young fella like him usually lose interest quickly. That’ll probably be the case for him too.
That was what he had naively thought.
However the next day the first-year showed his face again, and the day after as well. In fact, every day of the week, at the same hour, he came back to ask him childish questions. His favorite season, if he enjoyed the sound of autumn leaves crunching under his shoes, if he ever made wishes on a plane that passed in the blue sky like him… All those insignificant and so … trivial things that nobody cared about. “He” wanted to know. And Cale Henituse wasn’t used to it: that someone cared so much about his likes and dislikes. Surprisingly, he actually found this little game to be somewhat entertaining and a great way to pass the time. Nevertheless, he made sure to always maintain a proper distance between them, never allowing him to cross the imaginary line he had drawn. Because if he ever let him take up too much space in his life, “he” would surely regret it.
“Hello Cale-nim, sorry I had a school trip today to a museum so I wasn’t able to say hi this morning.”
His hand paused for a millisecond on the page he was about to turn.
… He thought he wouldn’t come today.
He closed the book, then packed his things and put his bag on his shoulder.
“Hey, I’m sorry I’m quite busy. I don’t have time to entertain you today.”
After running so much to make sure he could catch a glimpse of his senior before he left, Choi Han felt a pang of disappointment as he watched the latter stand up to go home. A part of him wanted to protest, to insist that he only wished to chat for a few minutes but he held back. He shouldn’t act so clingy and inconsiderate.
“Oh… Alright. I understand.” He replied weakly, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he caught his breath after his frantic run.
The redhead noticed the reaction of his junior and sighed. It didn’t suit him to be so gloomy, this punk was quite hard to handle. It wasn’t like it was the end of the world not to talk to him for one day.
"... I have my part-time job. Come back tomorrow alright?”
And there was something different about the red-haired highschooler’s usual tone. His natural stoicism was sprinkled with a touch of je-ne-sais-quoi that made butterflies fly in the stomach of the teenager with onyx eyes. He nodded timidly, taken aback by the gentler side he had revealed.
“S-See you tomorrow then?”
He watched his senior’s figure getting further away as if he were leaving on a journey and wouldn’t see him again for months, even though barely twenty-four hours separated them. This was nothing to the average person, but for Choi han twenty-four hours was an extremely long time. It was one thousand four hundred and forty minutes, that is to say, eighty-six thousand four hundred seconds without seeing the love of his life. He wanted to follow him to his workplace and wait until he finished his shift to walk him home. However, he had no qualifications to do that. He was not his boyfriend and far from being his friend.
If he had to define their relationship, he was surely a somewhat annoying junior that Cale wanted to get rid of, similar to chewing gum that sticks too much to the sole of a sneaker. But ironically, At least he knew his name, and that was already a big step. He had never openly shown him that he wanted him to stop his early morning visits, and he was aware that the student with cat eyes wasn’t someone who would mince his words just to please people. He was quite optimistic that he didn’t hate him that much.
“U-Um good luck! Is it the fast food place again?” He yelled across the corridor.
“Ah, it’s another place today. But thank you.”
Oh, he wasn’t aware that he had two part-time jobs… Where did he find the time to study? If it were him, he would never be able to juggle between work and school. He was full of surprises. Maybe that was why he looked so tired and slept so much every time he came to see him. Hmm… He’d like to help lighten the load on his shoulders. What if he also searched for a student job? Knowing the third year’s personality, he certainly wouldn't accept money earned through hard work from him. Perhaps he could offer him lunch or something like that in the future?... Become someone he could rely on.
“I should ask uncle if he needs help at the dojo…” he murmured to himself.
The sun had begun to set when he left school. On the way, he helped an elderly woman carry her groceries home and ended up on the other side of the neighboring town. After all that exercise, his stomach was growling, and he wondered what he could possibly eat for dinner. His parents were meeting with old school friends, and he had been forbidden from touching the kitchen while they were gone after the incident where he had nearly burned the whole house down in middle school trying to cook pasta. Ugh… He figured he had no choice but to buy a snack from the convenience store. It wouldn’t be as good as his mom’s cooking, however it would do.
He went into a nearby supermarket, grabbed a sandwich from one of the shelves, and walked to the checkout. To his surprise, the person behind the counter scanning another customer’s items was a familiar face. Choi Han let out a sigh, he couldn’t believe he missed “him” so much that he saw him everywhere. It made no sense that he was here.
“It will be eleven copper coins, sir.”
Moreover, he had the same voice, it was really the last straw.
“Sir?”
Onyx eyes met cherry eyes. A bud of realization blossomed on both sides. Sometimes silence spoke far better than words. The expression of the raven-haired man changed from boredom to surprise and finally to shame. Besides the panic that seized his entire being, and that his cheeks could compete for first place with a ripe watermelon, he quickly threw out a few half-formed sentences to justify his presence there.
“I-I promise that I’m not a stalker! I… There was a grandma and…”
Cale’s face stayed impassive at the explanation close to a muddle, but that didn’t stop him from finding it amusing that his junior always got flustered over nothing. He enjoyed it a little bit too much than he should.
“Relax, it didn’t even occur to me that you could be one. Do you pay with cash or card?”
The highschooler remained silent a millisecond before his brain switched back on and he understood what was being asked of him. He awkwardly pulled a crumpled wad of bills from his trousers.
“C-Cash please.”
For a fleeting moment, their fingers touched each other, causing a tingling sensation to run through his body. He hastily withdrew his hand with a scarlet face and the redhead smirked mischievously. Ah, if he kept it up it would be difficult to resist pushing the button and tease him a little more. He gave him his change and put his sandwich in a paper bag. And then he leaned in slightly and whispered in his ear with a sweet honeyed voice:
“Enjoy your meal.”
Choi Han nearly dropped the coins in his palm. He quickly grabbed the handles of the bag and jumped back.
“T-Thank you! You… You too. No, I mean…”
His eyes frantically scanned the interior of the convenience store from ceiling to floor, unsure where to look to avoid making eye contact. His heart was playing an orchestra all by itself, and his hands were moist with sweat. He was ashamed of acting so sheepish and clumsy because of a stupid physical contact. Perhaps that was the problem with never having fallen in love. Everything was new to him, was it normal to become a numb fool when you were in love? Adjkljgbrjnkm… He slowly walked towards the exit with a slumped back.
“You know, it’s not good for your health to only eat convenience store things for dinner. You should make a soup to go with it.”
Choi Han stopped in his tracks, surprised that the third year was pushing further their pathetic conversation from earlier. The redhead had his back turned and was putting items on the shelf behind the counter.
“... A soup?”
The young man with vermillion hair hummed in affirmation, still focused on aligning the objects he had just placed neatly.
“Yes, a good vegetable soup.”
He’d like to eat something other than his sad bread, too… Really. If only his senior knew that even boiling water in a pot without supervision could land him in prison. He was a hopeless case when it came to cooking but his crush seemed to be a good chef … (he wasn’t thinking that because of his dream from the other day okay!)
“Do you often cook?…” He asked softly, his eyes tracing Cale’s back as he continued tidying up the shelves.
The cashier glanced over his shoulder and sketched a smile. He leaned against the counter, folding his arms across his chest.
“Why? Are you trying to sneak your way into getting some of my cooking?”
“!...”
Choi Han became beet red. I-It wasn’t at all what he was thinking when he asked the question, nevertheless now that he said it he couldn’t help but imagine the pretty cashier behind the stove busy cooking delicious dishes in an apron…
An apron with floral patterns would look nice on him.
…
A-AHEM.
With a little patience and perseverance, perhaps one day he might have the honor of seeing him wearing one… In the meantime, the supermarket apron wasn’t bad either. Everything suited Cale-nim anyway. The raven-haired man came back down to earth and looked at the aisle of dried powdered broth. Should he get one so he wouldn’t choke on his sandwich?…
“I made some soup for the kids today and I’ve brought the leftover with me for lunch but didn’t have time to eat it. Here, you can have it.”
And as if someone had read his thoughts, a little container was placed in front of him. The teenager widened his eyes and stuttered timidly:
“I-I can’t just take your lunch…”
His words suggested one thing, but his fingers, already on the box, told a different story.
“Mh, I see that your hands had taken the decision for you.”
The young man admitted defeat and held the soup close to his chest, treating it as if it were a rare treasure.
“You’re sure that you’re okay with me taking it? I mean…”
“I think I’ll survive, I almost make soups every day.”
And just as he was about to add another layer (out of politeness), his stomach growled as if it was rebelling. The scene made the redhead laugh, and he chimed in with:
“Every time I see you, you’re only eating junk food. Surely it won’t hurt to have something homemade for once, don’t you think?”
From their meeting at the fast-food restaurant and finally here, geez youngsters these days… He hoped that the kids wouldn’t end up like this too. Otherwise, he would have had a lot of worry about. Was it only a phase for teenagers?
“I-I don’t only eat unhealthy food. My mom is a really good cook! It’s just that today she went to see some friends so…”
Choi Han tried to protest without success. His flimsy excuses were far from convincing.
“Uh-huh. Let me guess… Your mom is not around so you grab whatever is easiest to cook like microwaveable stuff.”
Ugh… Touché.
He had nothing to refute his words.
“... I’ll have you know that I’m a disaster in the kitchen. I can barely boil water without the neighbors calling the fire department.” He muttered, embarrassed to show his lame side.
“Pfft—haha!”
…
Oh.
He didn’t know that his ridiculous confession would open doors for him to witness such a lovely smile from the pretty redhead. It was a smile similar to the one he had seen at the fast food place, but it was more soft and sincere. It was a smile that made a field of daisies bloom inside his heart, like a paper boat floating on a calm sea.
“You must be a great magician of the microwave then.”
The young man with ebony hair wanted to bury himself three feet under ground in shame, and at the same time… He couldn’t help but keep rambling on, because he wished to talk to him for as long as possible. Cale’s laugh was like a gentle lullaby to his ears: he longed to hear it every day of the year.
“The microwave and I are getting along very well thank you.” He blabbered, staring at the floor with rosy cheeks.
“Oh, I have no doubt. I’m sure you make a great team burning food in record time.”
It was the first time he saw his senior smile so much. For once, his clumsiness worked in his favor… He didn’t mind looking like an idiot so much anymore. If it made the pretty redhead laugh, he preferred to remain a stupid love-struck fool forever.
“A-About that…”
Then, just as he was about to defend his pride a little, the doorbell rang sign that they were not alone anymore. The cashier immediately reverted to his usual stoic demeanor and put on his model employee mask. It was as if their innocent bickering earlier had been nothing but a mirage and he didn’t know him. The first year with raven hair bit his lower lip, slightly upset. He didn’t like the feeling of needles piercing his heart.
…
He thought that they had become a little closer, but maybe he was getting too ahead of himself. He let out a small sigh and bowed politely to thank him, then left the shop. After a few steps, he turned around to look inside the store: through the window onyx eyes met cherry eyes. Choi han mustered his courage and mouthed quietly the words:
< Thank you for the food! >
The highschooler with red flaming hair nodded with a tiny smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The boy’s silhouette slowly faded into the distance until it became a dot on the horizon, and calm returned to the store. After serving the last customer, Cale was surprised to find that the silence wasn’t as comforting as usual. How odd, it had never bothered him before, as he had always enjoyed being alone.
“Maybe I’m just a bit tired.” He muttered to himself before opening the backroom closet to take a broom and sweep away the dust from his weary mind.