Chapter Text
On a scale from one to ten, Seungkwan would rate his life a solid seven.
It’s nothing too exceptional, really. He doesn’t live in a mansion of three floors with an inside pool (he wishes, though) and he doesn’t go to Europe for holidays, he’s never even eaten a full Italian pizza. He’s not that good looking and he doesn’t have a fit body, and he never kissed anyone – something his sisters simply can’t stop teasing him about. He’s not that brilliant in school, and he just recently learned how to ride a bike without stopping every ten minutes.
His life is a solid seven. Not too good nor too bad, just normal.
There are times where his life turns into eights, or nines. Those are usually the times when Seungkwan gets a free massage from one of his sisters and they binge-watch kdramas together with masks on. Or when one of his friends suddenly surprises him with some sweet treat, or with impromptu shopping. When he gets to visit his grandparents, and he can breathe again the salty air of Jeju, which he dearly misses from time to time. Heck, maybe his life gets a full ten when he’s toe-deep in the sand, and he can lose himself watching the ocean. Always so welcoming, his hometown.
Other times his life can go back to five, sometimes even four. Though there’s never anything too big that causes it, just some small annoyances – Seungkwan can be so moody at times, and so easily bothered.
Like right now, his life is definitely a five. Four, if Soonyoung keeps screaming so loud.
Seungkwan still doesn’t get why Soonyoung always drags them all to the school practices. Seungkwan can’t even reach a full 5-star on Dance Generation, so why must he always spend his precious time at the dance practices? He doesn’t do much, either. He usually spends that time watching Soonyoung teach the monthy choreo to the girls – some of them are just straight terrible, it’s painful to watch – and he munches on snacks, sometimes he brings homework with him trying to kill time, but he never gets anything done.
The fault is Soonyoung’s. His older friend is extremely persuasive – threatening, Seungkwan would dare say – and he can’t bring himself to say no to him. For as much as Seungkwan swears to hate him and his antics, he’s actually too fond of the guy. He’s been pestering them with going to the practices with sweet words and big puppy eyes, and Seungkwan could have even said no, but he couldn’t. Not when Seokmin so adamantly agreed, claiming with a big smile “we’ll be fully supportive, hyung!”. Seungkwan wonders what is Seokmin’s idea of “support”, since the latter spends his time at the practices playing games on his phone or chatting the girls up.
A girl on the extreme left of the formation trips on her own feet and lands with her ass on the ground, eliciting some shy giggles from the others. Soonyoung stops shouting instructions as soon as he notices, and he immediately goes to help her. The girl blushes as Soonyoung helps her get up on her feet and assures her “it’s not a problem, it happens all the time”. Seungkwan has to agree, at least.
He sighs, and lets his eyes wander to the other side of the field. The basketball team is having an unusual Thursday practice, and Seungkwan hates that he knows their weekly schedule. He’s usually dragged to the field for the dance practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so it only makes sense the basketball team holds meetings the other vacant days, but that’s not the reason why Seungkwan knows. Said reason seems to be absent today though, so Seungkwan can release a sigh of relief and maybe entertain himself for a bit watching the team.
To be fair, he doesn’t know anything about basketball. He knows there’s a ball, and they need to get the ball into the basket – when he explained this to Seokmin, he looked at him skeptically and then humoured him “wow Kwanie, you’re so smart”. Other than that, he doesn’t have any idea.
He knows every team has a captain. That would be the bulky guy in the red shirt with raven hair, constantly shouting instructions to his members. Seungkwan knows he’s graduating this year, so he must be older than him and his friends. He doesn’t know his real name, everybody calls him “Coups” and Seungkwan never cared to find out why. He’s pretty popular, though. Seungkwan never talked to him personally, but Soonyoung can’t stop gushing about him whenever they discuss the occupation of the school field for the respective practices. “Oh, he’s so kind, he’s so friendly, he always smiles, he’s such a good person” he would repeat, over and over, so Seungkwan trusts his judgement. He guesses “Coups” is okay.
There are other members on the basketball team that are not okay, though.
Exhibit A: Kim Mingyu. Unfortunately for him, he did meet Mingyu in person and even talked to him once. If he looks freakishly tall on the field, he’s scary to look at in person. Seungkwan didn’t even know there could be people that tall before meeting him. One time he told so to his friends, to which Seokmin replied “I’m tall!”, and Seungkwan and Soonyoung just shared a knowing look.
Thing is, Kim Mingyu is not only tall like a street lamp. He’s also ridiculously good-looking, and unbelievably friendly with anyone. Seungkwan once gave him directions to the science lab, and the guy gave him a snack to thank him – and the lab wasn’t even that far, just around the corner. But oh well, one can’t say no to free snacks.
Seungkwan observes him, how he seems to loom above his members as they pass the ball, with a deeply concentrated face. Until he suddenly loses focus, his eyes get impossibly wide and he’s knocked over by one of his members, falling right on the ground like that girl in Soonyoung’s dance crew. Seungkwan follows his tray of sight, and he grins when he spots Wonwoo, silently making his way to the bleachers.
Jeon Wonwoo is the reason why Kim Mingyu is a not-okay member. It’s almost comical how the guy always gets distracted and clumsy whenever Wonwoo appears. He has a painfully evident crush, always trying to get Wonwoo to talk to him whenever he can, just to get ignored every single time.
Seungkwan nods at Wonwoo in acknowledgement, and the other sits down next to him. As always, he has his camera clutched to his chest. He’s rummaging through pictures in silence, and Seungkwan doesn’t disturb him.
He and Wonwoo are not exactly friends. He’s a friend of Soonyoung, so they know each other, and he’s the official photographer for the school’s paper, so they meet often when he snaps pictures on the field, but they never talked outside that. Seungkwan tries, and Wonwoo always politely replies, but he’s quite the silent person. So different from him and his friends, that can’t seem to keep a decent voice volume in any occasion. Seungkwan would feel uncomfortable in the beginning, but Wonwoo has become a stable presence now, so he just lets him do his job without interfering, and only talks when Wonwoo puts his camera down in his bag.
“I thought you weren’t on duty today” he finally speaks, when Wonwoo is done closing his bag. He knows Wonwoo’s job covers almost all types of school entertainment, but he mostly focuses on the basketball team, and they didn’t have practice today – well, theorically. There’s no way Wonwoo could have known that.
“I was in the theatre, east-wing” Wonwoo explains, “they’re practicing for some play and Jeonghan wanted me there. I knew you would be here, so I thought of passing by. Why is the team here?”
They both glance at the basketball team practicing on the right side of the field. Mingyu got up from his fall, Seungkwan notices, and he’s now playing, carefully planning his moves. He wonders if Wonwoo saw him fall earlier, even though he’s sure he didn’t. According to Seokmin’s calculations, Mingyu’s crush has developed around six months ago, from the very first time they saw him trip over his feet when Wonwoo got his job and showed up at practice for the first time. And in all six months of said excruciating process, Wonwoo never noticed. Seungkwan is not sure Wonwoo can even recognize Mingyu among all the members. Maybe he should raise Mingyu’s status to okay-member, just for pity.
“Soonyoung said Coups asked him to lend him the field today because the team needs some extra practice, but you know Soonyoung, he loves the dance practices. So they decided to share.”
Wonwoo nods, understanding. “Where’s Seokmin?”
As soon as he’s mentioned, Seokmin appears behind them. Seungkwan had sent him to the vending machines to get some drinks earlier, and he didn’t even notice how long Seokmin was away. He gets why when he sees his friend carry a whole bag of drinks. He quickly greets Wonwoo before running to Soonyoung with the drinks, and his friend beams with enthusiast at the sight. He greatly thanks Seokmin and takes a can of some energizing drink from the bag, and then distributes the others to the girls, who seem relieved to take a break. He quickly runs back then, holding three drinks in his hands.
“Here, your cola” he hands the can to Seungkwan, “and a juice for hyung! You like apricot, right?”
Wonwoo nods and smiles at him, taking the bottle. “Thank you, Seokmin.”
“No problem!” he widely smiles at him – always smiles, Seungkwan swears – and sits down on the bleachers. He takes a can of cola for himself. “So, what did I miss?”
Seungkwan lazily sips on his drink. “A girl from the dance team tripped earlier, and then Kim Mingyu tripped.”
“Mingyu is always tripping” Seokmin considers, “he’s so tall he can’t coordinate well.”
Seungkwan grins. “Well, he gets distracted a lot.”
Seokmin seems to get it then, for they share a secret chuckle looking subtly Wonwoo’s way, who’s totally unaware of their silent gossiping.
“Oh, Vernon’s there.”
“Vernon’s where??”
Wonwoo just points to the west side of the field while sipping his juice, and Seungkwan follows.
And there He is. The most not-okay member of the basketball team, Hansol Vernon Chwe. Actually, his being not-okay is only a consequence of his being super, totally, absolutely more than okay. Oh, he’s definitely a ten.
The guy is nothing short than a model, an actor, or maybe an idol – he could easily pull any of the three. Seungkwan swears he’s never seen anyone so handsome, or charming, or attractive. He’s got the most perfect face Seungkwan’s ever seen, with the prettiest smile and the best voice; he’s so funny and caring, and smart, and just so amazing Seungkwan kinda hates him sometimes.
Okay, not true. Seungkwan has the biggest crush on him. He doesn’t even remember a time when he did not have a crush on Hansol, it’s almost like he was born with it. It’s not like Seungkwan didn’t have other crushes besides him, but they never lasted – again, Seungkwan gets easily bothered, and bored. But it’s difficult to let this one dissipate, he assumes, since he can see Hansol change in the morning from the window of his room.
The hot next-door neighbour being his high school crush is a major problem. Seungkwan never has a moment when he’s not thinking about Hansol or watching Hansol, whether it’s during the bus ride in the morning, in between classes at school, at Soonyoung’s dance practices, at the basketball team’s games, and through his fucking window. Sometimes he even catches him when he takes out the trash in the evening, their houses’ lawns being connected.
They’re somewhat friends. They surely have been, when Hansol’s family moved in the neighbourhood eleven years ago and their parents instantly clicked – Hansol’s parents had been so happy that Seungkwan was the same age as their son, since Hansol had grown a little sad after leaving the US, and he needed to practice his Korean. They’d become friends so quickly, so easily, and Seungkwan had always been proud of his title of “Hansol’s first Korean friend”, which the other personally assigned him. But of course they grew up, and grew apart, and Seungkwan doesn’t hear much of him these days. He only sees him, but never approaches him.
That doesn’t stop him from crushing hard on him, though. If anything, their apparent distance makes the whole crushing process easier, since he’ll never have to face it. He can keep crushing and Hansol doesn’t ever need to know.
Seungkwan gets back from his train of thoughts, and he notices Hansol just fist-bumped another guy on the team, who’s stepping away from the field. He sees Mingyu waving at him, and Coups smiling his way and instructing something. He’s definitely getting ready to play.
“Earth to Seungkwan, helloo?”
Seokmin’s face gets in the way of his ambushed staring, and Seungkwan feels like blushing. “I’m sorry, you were saying?”
Seokmin only grins. “It’s almost like you never see him, you know? Every time you have this awestruck expression like you’ve just seen him for the first time and you’re taking him in. I’m pretty sure you saw him naked at this point.”
This time Seungkwan fully blushes, and throws him a punch on the arm. “I’m not a creep! Of course I haven’t!”
Wonwoo loudly sips his juice. “I keep forgetting you two are neighbours. It’s just so weird.”
“Why is it weird?”
“You barely talk. I know you’re crushing on him, and you don’t talk to him, which makes the thing about you two being neighbours and actually being friends just weird.”
Seungkwan huffs, taking a sip of his cola. “Still. I never saw him naked.”
“Oh, but you wish you had!” Seokmin breaks into laughter, and even Wonwoo joins. Seungkwan wants to punch them both, but he resolutes to angrily sipping his drink and watching Hansol.
He’s got into action like second nature, moving swiftly between his members. His shirt rides up as he scores what looks to be a two-pointers, and Seungkwan thinks Seokmin is right – he definitely wishes he had.
⋆
The rest of the practice goes on smoothly. Soonyoung and the girls manage to go through a good part of the choreography and Soonyoung looks really proud when he finally announces the class dismissed and throws himself on the ground, exhausted. The basketball team finishes around the same time, and Seungkwan can finally breathe properly, as soon as Hansol and his team members retire to the locker rooms in the gym. He’s also relieved, because Seokmin will finally stop his endless game of teasing.
His friend is animatedly speaking to Soonyoung, laying on the ground right next to him, when Wonwoo asks Seungkwan: “Do you want to come with me to the school paper’s office?”
Seungkwan glances at his two friends, currently preoccupied with a painful battle of tickling. Their laughter is so loud it can probably be heard from inside the school building. If Seungkwan stays, they’ll start tickling him as well, so of course he quickly nods to Wonwoo, and doesn’t even bother telling his friends – they’ll still be there for the time he comes back.
Seungkwan makes his way to the school building with Wonwoo, just right behind him. He notices they’re on the west side of the building, which Seungkwan is not really accustomed to, so he sticks to following Wonwoo in silence. They don’t go for the stairs like Seungkwan thought, but they walk a long empty corridor that looks somewhat creepy with how little lightning it has. And then a narrower corridor, even more poorly illuminated.
“Hyung, where is the office?” he asks, a little confused as to where they’re exactly going.
“The last door on the right.”
True to his word, Wonwoo stops before a semi-hidden door on the right side of the corridor. Seungkwan doesn’t even think he ever saw this part of school – it almost feels like an horror movie. The older guy knocks twice, and nobody answers from inside for some minutes. Seungkwan is about to suggest that maybe no one is there, or they knocked at the wrong door, who would even be there at this hour?, but soon enough the door opens, revealing a little more lightning coming from the inside of the room, and a blonde guy on the doorstep.
Seungkwan only met Yoon Jeonghan just a few times during his stay in high school, but he knows a lot about him. Soon to graduate, Jeonghan is the director of the school’s paper, he seems to know everything about everyone, and he is pretty popular among students. He’s the object of eternal gossip, going from whether he’s really dating his best friend, to whether he got plastic surgery. The questions are somehow lecit, Seungkwan concludes, since Jeonghan has a very pretty face, complimenting his personality so nicely. But what stands out the most about him is his persistent grin, always present on that only-apparently “angel face”.
Jeonghan smiles up at Wonwoo and moves on the side to let both enter – the door is too narrow to allow such grand combined movements. “Did you get what I asked, Woo?”
The inside of the official school’s paper looks like a bunker. Well, Seungkwan’s never been into a bunker before, but this is what he imagines it to be: small, cramped, with a stuffy smell and poor lightning. The place is decorated with some old furniture and two laptops are laying on the big table at the centre, with a printer on the side. The walls are full of old newspaper’s pages, that must be at least ten years old considering the yellow-ish color.
Wonwoo seems unaffected by the place. Like he is about most things, anyway. He gets his camera out of his bag and leans closer to Jeonghan, and the older immediately gets his focus on the pictures. Wonwoo points at some from time to time, tells Jeonghan something Seungkwan doesn’t get, and the blonde nods.
“These are good, I suppose” Jeonghan states, “I’ll need to pass them to Joshua for confirmation, so please send them to my address tomorrow.”
Wonwoo nods in understanding and puts his camera back. “Jeonghan hyung?”
“Yeah?”
“When are you going to pay me for the pictures?”
Jeonghan deadpans. He looks like he’s thinking about something, maybe weighing his options – he smiles. He smiles brightly, sweetly to Wonwoo. “You should talk about that with Joshua, Woo.”
Right, Joshua. That’s the name of the infamous best friend of Yoon Jeonghan’s, the one everybody says he’s actually dating. Seungkwan doesn’t know who birthed that rumor, but it never seemed to phase either of them. That must be because they actually work with rumors, being the two directors of the school’s paper, so they know how to handle them. Or maybe they just are really dating and don’t mind everyone know.
Wonwoo scoffs. “You always say that.”
“And you never talk to Joshua about it.”
“That’s ‘cause he’s always busy, and you know that.”
Seungkwan remembers now. He knows a Joshua, but he never actually connected the name with the face, because the guy is always busy doing something. Something about volunteering at a church and even at a pet’s shelter, along with classes and homework. He’s always heard people gush about how good of a person Joshua Hong is, and how did he ever end up with someone like Yoon Jeonghan.
Jeonghan gives Wonwoo a fake smile. “Maybe you’ll be luckier next time!”
Wonwoo shakes his head in resignation. Seungkwan could swear he looks a little amused by the exchange. Seungkwan is amused as well.
“Are you staying long?” Wonwoo asks the older, “It’s past 5 already.”
“Just some minutes, I need to finish something and then I’ll head home. You’re such a considerate dongsaeng, Woo.”
Wonwoo rolls his eyes. “Just hurry.”
Jeonghan smiles at them and gets behind the laptop for some minutes, and neither of them talks. Seungkwan is scrolling his phone, grinning at the picture Soonyoung just sent their groupchat of Seokmin laying on the grass in a x position, with the caption: “he thinks he’s an angel HAHAAH”
“Hyung?”
His eyes immediately shoot up at the voice. He irrationally panics for a moment, and looks over the place to find a good hiding spot. But he can’t, and he wouldn’t because that would be embarrassing, and before he can even make his face features out fully, Hansol is smiling at him.
In acknowledgement, maybe. Or in confusion. Or out of politeness. What’s he even doing here, of all places??
Hansol nods at Wonwoo and pats him on the shoulder, before moving past them and coming into the room. Jeonghan lights up when he sees him. “Vernon!”
“Hello, hyung. I knew I could find you here. I don’t see Joshua hyung, though?”
Hansol looks around him, and Jeonghan shakes his head. “Nope, just me. Did you need him?”
Seungkwan grants himself a moment to look at his crush. He changed out of his basketball uniform, and is wearing low jeans and a hoodie. He has the hood on, which may be because he’s washed his hair, or maybe he just wants to wear his hood on. Until Wonwoo gets his attention with a flick on the chin, and sets his judging expression on him, like he could read his thoughts – Seungkwan hopes he can’t.
They notice then, the other boy standing in the narrow corridor. He’s still wearing his shorts, and a hoodie like Hansol, but he’s completely immersed in it, like he’s trying to hide his face, stuffing his nose against his phone. There’s no mistaking his identity, though: only a few people in the world are that tall.
Mingyu doesn’t even glance their direction. He looks uneased, nervous, like he’s silently praying Hansol will come out of there so he can run away from Wonwoo. Like always, Wonwoo has no clue. So when a bad idea surges into Seungkwan’s mind, he doesn’t hesitate to speak out loud.
“Hello, Mingyu-nim” he calls the other, “good job on the field today! Fighting!”
He raises a little fist in the air and smiles at Mingyu, who suddenly looks up in terror. He looks embarrassed when he thanks him. “Thank you, Seungkwan. What - what are you guys doing there?” he asks, shy.
As he answers, Seungkwan is filled with the impression Mingyu is actually really stupid. “Wonwoo hyung works as a photographer for the school’s paper,” he explains carefully, like Mingyu doesn’t fucking know. “We just met with Jeonghan-nim for some pictures.”
When Mingyu realizes he just asked a stupid question, he deeply blushes. “Ah, yeah. That. I knew that.”
Wonwoo doesn’t falter from his stance. He stays unbothered by the conversation, only glancing inside the room to look at the two guys talking. Seungkwan is really annoyed at this point.
“Wonwoo hyung!” he calls for his attention, “Didn’t you tell me you got a really nice picture of Mingyu-nim just the other day? Like, when he was scoring a point?”
Wonwoo looks up at him, then at Mingyu. Seungkwan can see the latter holding his breath when their gazes meet. “Ah, yes” the older agrees, “I think Jeonghan hyung will publish it in next week’s article. It’s a nice picture.”
Seungkwan could swear, even a statue could hold more emotion than Wonwoo and it surely wouldn’t be that dense. He resumes to his phone quickly after that, declaring the conversation dismissed, and Seungkwan almost expects Mingyu to cry in frustration, but he’s met with the largest, happy smile. “Thank you, Won – I mean, sunbae.”
His hyung smiles at Mingyu, and for the first time he looks sincere. “No problem, Mingyu-yah. You’re a nice subject.”
Seungkwan isn’t able to see the shocked and panicked expression on Mingyu’s face, nor is he able to replicate it, for Hansol suddenly moves past him and joins his friend, instantly clutching at his arm. Jeonghan walks behind them, putting a scarf around his neck. “I’ll make sure to tell Joshua tonight, don’t worry” he smiles at Vernon.
“Thank you, hyung. So we’ll head back, if you excuse us.”
They nod together to dismiss the boys, and Seungkwan can finally breathe when Hansol turns his back at him, dragging what looks to a be a highly clumsy Mingyu along. They’re whispering between themselves, even though Mingyu’s voice comes out in a high pitch, and Wonwoo raises an eyebrow at that.
A set of arms circles them both then, and they’re met with the ever so adamant smile of Yoon Jeonghan. “So, who wants to go out for ice cream?”
⋆
“I’m telling you, he’s got at least a nose job!”
On the split screen of Seungkwan’s phone, his two friends look like they’re not listening at all. Soonyoung is jumping up and down, alternating the jumps with squats, and he looks ridiculous with his hair fringe pulled back in a headband. Seokmin, on the other side, is taking a bite of his sandwich. Seungkwan scoffs at their lack of attention, and Seokmin swallows the bite and takes a sip of water. “I don’t think he did” he replies, “we should just accept he’s that naturally good-looking.”
Seungkwan rolls his eyes at his friend’s pure mind. “He’s not!” he retorts, “Nobody looks that good naturally.”
From the right side of his screen, Soonyoung’s voice joins in. “What about Vernon, then?”
Seungkwan gets defensive, already setting his lips in a subtle pout. “What about him?”
“You always say he’s perfect and handsome, did he get a nose job too?”
Seokmin’s laughter rages in, and Seungkwan narrows his eyes at Soonyoung, eyeing him as threatenly as he can through his phone. “Get back to jumping, you freak.”
“Hey!” Seokmin barges in, “Don’t insult your hyung.”
“He started it!” Seungkwan justifies, while Soonyoung smiles up at him and “Thank you, Dokyeomie” he says; “How many jumps did I do so far?” he asks.
“Twenty-three” the younger of the two replies, displaying a thumbs up at him. “You go, hyung!”
Soonyoung doesn’t waste time and gets back to jumping, and Seungkwan scoffs loudly. “Sometimes I think you prefer him over me. You always take his side, and you’ve known me longer.”
Seokmin makes a show of pouting at him, and then he shakes his head in laughter. “Nonsense, you’re both my boyfriends.”
Both Seungkwan and Soonyoung scrunch their nose at the comment, making a prolonged “ew” of disgust.
“No offense, hyung, but I would rather die a virgin.”
“Can’t believe I’m sharing you with Seungkwan! Where’s the loyalty??”
Seokmin laughs loudly at his friends, and takes another sip of his drink. “Your loss!”
Soonyoung takes a break then, breathing heavily through the screen. “Speaking of boyfriends,” he joins the conversation, finally laying on his bed, “did you meet him today, Kwan? The man of your dreams?”
He’s about to retort to Soonyoung’s wording, until he starts wondering, “and how do you know?”
“I saw Vernon coming out the same corridor you did this afternoon, minutes earlier. I figured you’ve met?”
Seokmin widens his eyes then, interested in the conversation.
“I did meet him” Seungkwan admits, “he was looking for Joshua Hong and Wonwoo hyung dragged me with him to see Yoon Jeonghan. But we didn’t even talk, I don’t even know why he was there. Joshua wasn’t there.”
He wonders why he was looking for Joshua Hong. Do they even know each other? Hansol referred to him as “hyung”, so that must mean they’re somewhat close. But how close, exactly? Seungkwan sighs out of frustration – he barely knows anything about Hansol these days and he hates it.
“Probably asking if they can show a cool picture of him on the field” Seokmin suggests, and then proceeds to burp subtly. Soonyoung laughs at the action, while Seungkwan makes a face of disgust.
He gets up from his bed and walks to his closet, suddenly remembering to pick out his outfit for the day after. “That reminds me” he interjects, “Kim Mingyu was with him. So hilarious, guys.”
Soonyoung’s eyes get wide through the screen, and Seungkwan wants to tell him he looks like an hamster. He discards the idea and starts looking through his jeans. “Did he see Wonwoo??” the older asks, already amused.
Seungkwan nods, and the mere memory gets a chuckle out of him. “You should’ve seen him. He’s as tall as a tree but he was trying so hard to make himself little, so we wouldn’t notice it was him. But I called him out.”
“The bitch that you are.”
Seungkwan chooses to ignore Soonyoung’s remark and Seokmin’s following laughter and finally picks out a pair of light-coloured jeans. They should go well with that green sweater he has… “I greeted him in front of Wonwoo hyung, and the idiot had the audacity to ask why he was there” Seungkwan explains, infatuating the story with exaggerated facial expression. “Like, you know he’s a photographer, why would you ask such a dumb question??”
His friends erupt in giggles, and Seungkwan follows. He feels a little guilty for laughing behind Kim Mingyu’s back, but it’s not like Kim Mingyu will ever know anyway.
“Told you, the guy gets suuper clumsy whenever he sees hyung. It’s endearing actually.”
“It’s ridiculous,” Soonyoung corrects Seokmin “he’s fit and handsome but he chooses to act like a dumbass.”
Seungkwan nods in agreement at Soonyoung’s comment with a silly smile on his face, as he finally finds the green sweater he was looking for. He puts it on his free arm and closes the wardrobe door, and then –
“Oh fuck.”
His friends don’t really hear him for they keep laughing with each other, but they eventually fall in silence when Seungkwan moves his phone around in an erratic way. “Kwan, you okay there?” he hears Soonyoung ask.
Truth be told, Seungkwan is not okay. The thing is, nobody should ever be allowed to live next door to their long-time crush, even less have direct sight of their bedroom. Because, then stuff like this happens, stuff that forces Seungkwan to crouch down in panic and curse through gritted teeth why the fuck Hansol never closes the curtains.
Seokmin joins in the questions, but Seungkwan clutches his phone to his chest and sits down against the wall behind the window, trying to stay hidden. When their questions become insistent, he finally shows his face on the screen.
“Kwan, what the hell, you look like you’ve seen a – ”
“Hansol is having sex with his girlfriend.”
There’s a moment of mutual silence between his friends, until both break into laughter.
“God, you look so flushed!”
“It’s not funny, asshole!” he snaps at Soonyoung.
“Was he naked, or half naked, or – ”
“Do you think I looked long enough to know, Seokmin??”
“Well this is interesting. It’s like, voyeurism.”
Seokmin laughs at his friend’s comment, but Seungkwan looks at him murderous. “Fuck you, honestly.”
“Language!” they both snarl at him.
Seungkwan sighs loudly. He did see him half-naked. He looked so at ease with how his girlfriend was undressing him, and he had his roaming hands on
her body, totally unaware of any unwanted attention. Seungkwan sighs again, heavily, and shakes his head trying to get rid of the thought, as his friends keep laughing.
He hates it. He hates his friends for making fun of him, he hates Hansol’s girlfriend, he hates Hansol for never closing his fucking curtains, he hates Hansol’s parents for moving into the house next door a decade ago, and he hates himself for being such a cliché and falling for the guy next door that’s on the school sports team and has a hot girlfriend and never glances at him twice.
As he closes his own curtains, Seungkwan decides his life is merely a fucking two.