Chapter Text

“They so need to date,” Soobin shoves a handful of chips into his mouth, Yeonjun staring distastefully at him from a corner. Beomgyu agrees with that statement, walking over to Soobin just to steal some of his chips.

From afar, they watched as their chemistry teacher placed a stack of papers onto their history teacher’s desk, much to the other’s annoyance. And even though no one from outside the staff room could hear a single word those two were saying, the look on their faces was enough to tell the students that they were bickering.

Again. For the fifth time that day.

“I don’t know, would you really want to date someone who you describe as ‘the bane of your existence’?” Yuna wedged herself between Soobin and Beomgyu just so she could grab a bit of the remaining chips in the packet Soobin held. At this, Yeji hits her slightly on the back of her head. “Yah, Kim Yuna, stop stealing other people’s food!”

Yuna only rolls her eyes in retort and continues happily munching on her chips. “No, no, you don’t understand. Can you see their chemistry—no pun intended, by the way,” Soobin says, waving his hand around to emphasise his point. “It’s like enemies to rivals.” Yeonjun looked over at their teachers once again, noticing how Mr. Park, their chemistry teacher, flashed a bright grin at the man in front of him. Perhaps he does see Soobin’s point.

“They’re pretty cute, y’know.”

Earlier, the two teachers argued over who was going to use the printer first, and it wasn’t until Soobin pushed past the two of them that they realised they were blocking the hallway. Right after that, they began arguing about God knows what on the way to their respective classes. It’s miraculous how they manage to find something to bicker about every day. But that little grin that Mr. Park always had whenever he bickered with Mr. Kim never went unnoticed by Soobin, and if the flushed cheeks of Mr. Kim were anything to go by, he could easily deduce that they indeed had mutual feelings for each other.

Unless, of course, he completely missed the mark and assumed wrongly. That’d be pretty embarrassing, to be frank.

Yeonjun nudges Soobin with his hip playfully, now watching as their history teacher, Mr. Kim, annoyingly brushes the spider web stuck to the back of Mr. Park’s coat off. They really do look cute together.

“What if we set them up?” Soobin’s lips tug slowly at the corners before they reach his ears, and his eyes crinkle in delight. “ We? We, ” Yeji whisper-yells, mindful of the fact they’d draw attention to them if she yelled any louder. “What do you mean we set them up? We are a bunch of idiotic high school kids .”

Beomgyu looked personally offended by Yeji’s words (and rightfully so! He was not an idiot, considering he’s been doing relatively well in their history class recently—an average C grade is not easily achievable). “We aren’t dumb! And to prove your point, we’ll set them up together. Let’s get more people in on this as well, I bet they’d agree.”

The group contemplates Beomgyu’s words, though Soobin looks to agree with them anyway. Yeji peers through the staff room from the side, just as Mr. Kim laughs at how Mr. Park is trying his hardest to bother Mr. Lee, only to be told off by their principal from the table over.

(What Mr. Yang was doing in the staff room instead of his own office, the kids had no idea. Though Yeonjun suspected it had something to do with the spectacled English teacher who sat right next to him. Maybe they should be their next project once Mr. Kim and Mr. Park are happily wedded.)

Yeji watches the two teachers bicker and tease, and realises that this is how they’ve always been. Not a single day goes by that she doesn’t hear their voices bouncing off of each other in the hallways. It’s white noise to her at this point. So perhaps they were right, and the two would suit each other. It doesn’t hurt to at least try, right?

Lying on the sofa in the staff room, Niki groaned once his back hit the cushions, suddenly feeling the impact of the volleyball that had hit his back a lot more than he originally was. It was probably going to leave a bruise, and a massive one at that, considering how he hissed when he shifted slightly and a throw pillow dug a little at it.

Bless Jungwon for getting them a sofa, though. He ought to praise the guy more for this (no, he will not).

Sunghoon walks over to Sunoo’s desk, dropping a pile of papers onto it and eliciting a groan from the latter. “What the hell? Get this off my table, I’m going to eat!” Sunoo narrowed his eyes at him, his hair gently brushing the tips of his lashes as he glared at Sunghoon.

“No can do, Sun. These are your papers for your students,” Sunghoon says, a smirk growing on his lips. Sunoo heaves a sigh, obviously a little bit pissed. Niki doesn’t pay them any mind; the scene in front of him is so normal that he’s gone past the stage of finding their conversations interesting. Instead, Niki seemed to be more content watching the group of students hanging outside their staff room. He doesn’t get up to check on them, though, because it doesn’t really seem as if they needed any of the teachers anyway.

“Did you guys know that your students are outside the staff room right now?”

“What?”

Alarmed, Sunoo halts his conversation with Sunghoon (conversation was an understatement, because Niki’s sure that ‘conversations’ were meant to look and sound pleasant, not continuous bickering about where Sunoo places his stacks of papers), looking up from his desk, Sunoo sees his students huddled like a pack of wolves right outside the staff room, sneaking glances at them every now and then.

Somehow, it didn’t seem too out of the ordinary either, considering he’s become so desensitised to whatever antics his children pull. Had he thought they were hurt, however, then that’s a different story, but he just shrugs and turns back to Niki and Sunghoon. “I thought you meant they were hurt. Don’t mind them, I’ve seen those kids do worse. Let them be.”

Sunghoon, hell-bent on doing his daily mission of getting on Sunoo’s nerves, leans against the latter’s desk, a bright grin on his face as he lowers himself closer to Sunoo. Niki just rolls his eyes at them, wincing again when the growing bruise on his back hits another bump. He should really ice that at some point, but he decides against it—Niki was not weak. He can handle a small bruise for a little while.

“Personally, I think you should care a little bit more about your kids.”

“How I handle my students is none of your business, and besides, I know them better than you do! And you teach those kids too,” Sunoo hisses, his eyes trailing down Sunghoon’s form and noticing something white stuck on the other’s black coat. “Wait— ” He grabs Sunghoon by the sides of his arms, twirling him around just so he can get a good look at the back of Sunghoon’s coat. “Wha—Sunoo! What are you doing?”

“ Oh, my g—are you trying to look at my ass? ”

A smirk dancing on his lips, he whips his head around to look at Sunoo, only to find the man staring disapprovingly at him. “If you wanted to look at it, you could’ve just asked me instead of manhandling me,” Sunghoon said, mirth shimmering in his eyes. “Can you shut up? And why would I be looking at your nonexistent ass? Hell, even Jay’s ass is bigger than yours,” Sunoo retaliates, giggling endearingly when Sunghoon pulls back, slightly offended. This got Niki hollering in laughter, sputtering something along the lines of how embarrassing it was to get compared to Jay. What that meant, Sunoo had no idea.

“There’s a cobweb on your coat. No clue how that got there.” There’s a frown on Sunoo’s face as he brushes the cobweb off of Sunghoon’s coat, muttering how Sunghoon should be more careful of where he leans against. It makes Sunghoon’s heart skip a beat, but he pushes that feeling down.

Niki’s watching the students outside once again, finding it amusing how they keep glancing toward the two teachers bickering right in front of him. He’s sure they’re up to something, but at that moment, he couldn’t be bothered. Sure, it’s a teacher’s responsibility to make sure the students don’t do anything stupid, but Niki believes that every kid should be allowed to do something stupid for once in their life.

As long as it doesn’t personally concern him, he couldn’t really give a damn.

During the time when his attention was solely focused on that group of students, suddenly Sunghoon moved on to bothering Heeseung from the other side of the room. Crumpling a piece of paper in his hands, Sunghoon aims for the back of Heeseung’s head, throwing it and groaning when it misses. Sunoo chuckles at Sunghoon’s antics, but quiets down immediately when Jungwon shoots a glare at them.

“Hey! Stop bothering other people and take your,” Jungwon gestures to the two of them suggestively before continuing, “… whatever this is, somewhere else!”

one.

The issue starts when Soobin realises they have no clue what to do. Of course, they have an end goal, just like every plan does, but it’s the in-between that they lack, which, unsurprisingly enough, was the most crucial part of the whole plan. It certainly doesn’t help that they’ve managed to recruit almost everyone in their grade for the plan, too. Hey, at least Soobin has some reassurance that he’s not the only one who thinks his two teachers should date.

Though it would be incredibly embarrassing if one of them were already taken, Soobin vaguely remembers those two mentioning that they were single (it happened in the spring of last year when Soobin was happily walking past the staff room and… eavesdropping on the conversations. In his defence, he wanted to know if Ms. Jang had graded his maths paper yet).

He’s also quite sure that setting your teachers up breaks some kind of privacy law or something—and truthfully, Soobin doesn’t give a shit. He’s known these teachers for way too long not to step in. If they won’t do something about it, then he’ll do it—moralities and laws be damned.

So, of course, he needs to kickstart the whole project. He just doesn’t know how.

“What do we do? I don’t know how we’re going to set them up.”

Yeji stares at him, unblinking, with a frown slowly morphing into her once laughing face. “Are. You. Serious.” She slams her head against the table, moaning about how the dumbass managed to rope the whole school into a project that he didn’t even know how to start. She sighs exasperatedly, twiddling with her fingers. An idea brews slowly in her mind, but she’s unsure if it’s enough to at least get their plan rolling. Yeji says it anyway, though, because it’s better than not starting at all.

“Okay, what if we start simple? Just buy them gifts addressed to each other. And then leave it on their desks,” she suggests, waiting patiently for everyone’s opinions. She receives a chorus of hums, Beomgyu grinning excitedly at her. “Oh, that’d be cute! We should go shopping after school to buy the gifts then.”

Chaeryeong, who just joined them for lunch, tilts her head in confusion. “Buy what gifts?”

“Mr. Park and Mr. Kim.”

“From us…?”

Yuna flicks her on the forehead lightly, “No! We buy it for them, addressed to each other. Like, Mr. Kim is going to walk into the staff room one morning and see a gift laid out on his table from Mr. Park. And then he’s going to find Mr. Park incredibly sweet and nice, and then they’ll fall in love and then get married!” Chaeryeong thinks Yuna got a little bit carried away at the end. “But wouldn’t Mr. Kim ask Mr. Park about the gifts then?”

This silenced the entire group, all of them thinking in contemplation. “Yeah, but if Mr. Park is smart enough, he’ll just keep his mouth shut and pretend it’s from him,” Yeonjun states, giggling at the thought of his teacher going along with whatever they’re about to do. “If you say so,” Chaeryeong replies, choosing to just leave them alone. Chaeryeong doesn’t think it’ll work, but it doesn’t matter, Soobin supposes.

At least he has hope it will. Hopefully.

Finding out when and how to place the gifts on Mr. Kim’s table was quite the hassle if Soobin was being completely honest. First, they had to figure out when the teachers arrived at school in the morning. Much to Kai’s disappointment, Soobin and Yeonjun had dragged him out of bed at a ridiculous time just to scope out the time the teachers arrived. This meant that they had to hide around the corner and watch as the teachers slowly trickled into the school.

Thankfully enough, Mr. Park and Mr. Kim had had a running bet of who could get into the school earlier, and the students were met with their beloved teachers barging down the hallways (so much for not running down the halls! The next time Kai gets a detention from Mr. Park for running, he’s going to pull the video he just took on his phone and blackmail him. What a hypocrite).

“I got here first and you know that, Sunghoon!”

“Wrong! I parked my car first because you can’t park cars for shit .”

Mr. Kim rolled his eyes. “Hot people can’t park. But I suppose you’d need to learn a thing or two about being hot?” He taunts the man in front of him, unaware of the gasps and shoving of three teenage boys a metre away from them. Mr. Park leans forward, his face hovering just above Mr. Kim's. “Hm, you are pretty hot.”

“Oh my fucking God! ” Excited, Yeonjun tightly gripped onto Soobin’s shoulder, shaking the other back and forth. There’s absolutely no way they were witnessing this in real-time. However, they struggled to hear everything properly. Suddenly, Soobin feels more reassured of their entire plan. They continue to listen in, straining their ears slightly just to hear every word their teachers utter.

“Oh really?”

It was hard to see what exactly Mr. Kim was doing, but the next thing the boys knew, their teachers were backing off from each other and entering the staff room, not another word said between them.

“Dang it. I thought something else would happen. Like, I don’t know, they kiss each other?”

“Hyuka, if that happened, then what was the point of us buying Mr. Kim a gift?”

“Your students were outside again,” Niki states, dropping his bag next to his desk and fixing the keys slung around his neck. Eyebrows furrowed, Sunoo moves to look outside the staff room, only to be met with an empty hallway. He hears the clacking of Chelsea boots next to him, and suddenly, a hand ruffles his neatly kept hair.

“ Park! What was that for?”

“Nothing, just wanted to annoy you.”

Sunghoon truly was the bane of Sunoo’s existence. He’s lucky that he has a knack for making Sunoo's heart race as if he personally pumped adrenaline into his blood.

So every morning, Mr. Kim and Mr. Park arrived at the school at exactly 7:30 am, which proved to be another obstacle for the students to hurdle. But later that day during their history class, Felix overheard Mr. Kim telling the other Mr. Park (the one that teaches English. Honestly, there are too many Parks at the school! It’s getting confusing) that he was going to be late tomorrow, considering he needs to drop his car off at the repair shop. Hurriedly, Felix told Kai, who then told Soobin and Yeonjun.

All they needed to do now was to leave Mr. Kim’s gift on his desk, away from Mr. Park’s eyes. 

“Come quick before Mr. Park gets here!”

Yeonjun beckoned them into the staff room, glad that the door was unlocked and that it was empty. Hurriedly, Soobin and Kai followed suit, as best as they could, considering all three of them were practically giants. Why on earth were they trusted with this task?

Scurrying inside, Soobin takes another look around, making sure that the coast is clear. He procures the gift they bought for Mr. Kim from behind him and places it on the empty desk, his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

The gift itself wasn’t too extravagant, but it was glamorous enough to be a gift from a crush. The students pray that Mr. Kim will like it.

Just as the three were about to leave, the door to the staff room burst open. The three froze, looking almost akin to a deer caught in headlights. Mr. Sim, the Physics teacher, stood in front of them. None of them spoke a word, apparently too shocked to even utter something.

“What are you three doing here at,” he pauses for a moment to check his watch, “ 7:30 in the morning?” He stares at the three students incredulously, obviously aware that they are up to something. 

“Mr. Sim! My favourite teacher–”

“I am absolutely certain that I am not your favourite teacher, Yeonjun. Considering you’re failing Physics.”

This shuts Yeonjun up instantly, but he still musters a grin. “Okay, what are you three actually doing here?” Mr. Sim crossed his arms as he stared the three students down, his foot tapping the hardwood flooring (more like staring up if all of them were being realistic).

This was not part of the plan at all. Nothing that they discussed included getting caught by a teacher, and if anything, they considered the possibility of getting caught by Mr. Park more. Of which, Soobin already conceived a plan to get Mr. Park off their backs. Though it’d be interesting to see Mr. Park’s reaction when Mr. Kim opens his gift to find out it’s from him, knowing full well he didn’t place the gift on Mr. Kim’s desk. 

“Aw shit. Should’ve brought Taehyun with us instead, Mr. Sim loves him,” Soobin whispers, quietly enough that Mr. Sim never heard it. 

“Well, I wanted to come in here early to…” Yeonjun trails off, trying to come up with an alibi. “To… to ask for help! Yeah!” Mr. Sim scoffs in disbelief, unsure if what he was hearing was true. “...You want to ask for help? On Physics?” If Yeonjun wasn’t trying his hardest to provide a believable enough alibi for the three of them, then perhaps he would’ve felt a little insulted. “Yes. I need help with, um, Physics.”

“Yah, Choi Yeonjun, did you hit your head or something? This is amazing! Are you going to try harder with your next Physics test, then?”

All Yeonjun could do was nod. He has no idea what exactly he’s gotten himself into, but if it means that Mr. Sim won’t notice what they just left on Mr. Kim’s desk, then he guesses it’s not too bad. And maybe he could work on his Physics grade while he’s at it.

“Okay then, take a seat and I’ll go over this topic briefly with you,” Mr. Sim excitedly says, not before glancing briefly at the desk the boys were standing next to. It’s a little odd, considering his desk wasn’t even near Mr. Kim’s, and coincidentally, there’s a neatly placed paper bag sitting on top of it too. Choosing not to say anything, he just ushers the boys to take a seat, moving to grab his papers.

Later, Jake decides to ask Sunoo about the bag sitting on his desk when he arrives, but not before asking him why those students were hanging around the staff room once again. “Hey Sunoo, do you know those kids were in the staff room this morning?” 

“Huh?”

“Those kids. They were in the staff room again.”

Finally realising what Jake said, Sunoo blinked quizzingly at him, confused as to why he needed to know this. Niki pipes in from the sofa, this time sipping on the iced Americano he just bought. “Y’know, they’re around here an awful lot. I swear they’re up to something.” Jake nods in agreement, watching as Sunoo looks down at his desk, and a shocked expression flashes across his face.

“What’s this?”

Sunoo picked up the paper bag on his table, inspecting it carefully. It’s then that Jake realises he wanted to see how this would play out, without him asking Sunoo about the bag. He needed some form of entertainment in his life anyway, so he supposes this would do. He doesn’t hesitate to whisper this to Niki, though, because it was truly suspicious how those students were standing by Sunoo’s table earlier that morning. Leaning into Niki’s side, Jake lowered his voice, “I saw those kids by Sunoo’s desk this morning, and then I saw that bag on his desk. Do you think they had something to do with it?” Niki hums, replying, “Oh, definitely. Am I going to say anything? Absolutely not.”

“Who put this here?” Sunoo was still inspecting the bag, running his fingers over the surface of it, and then opening it. Inside was a black jewellery box and a handwritten note. Conveniently enough, Sunghoon enters the staff room, immediately walking towards Sunoo’s table and patting the other’s head. “Park Sunghoon, if you mess up my hair today, I will make sure you will regret every single day that you choose to open your eyes.”

Although Sunghoon knew that there wasn't any malice in Sunoo’s voice, he liked to pretend as if he were deeply wounded by it. “You truly hurt me, Sun,” he said, his voice sickeningly sweet that it made a shiver run down Sunoo’s spine. Sunoo just wordlessly glares at him before grabbing the jewellery box from the bag. “Who the hell gave me this?” Opening the box, Sunoo gasped loudly, grabbing the attention of every single person within close proximity of him. The box held one of the prettiest necklaces Sunoo had ever seen—dainty and simple enough, and it shocked him how someone decided to even gift him this.

(Unbeknownst to him, that was the collective effort of a couple of broke high school students using their three weeks’ worth of allowance money to pay for it. None of them knew why they decided to buy something worth that much instead of those typical Valentine teddy bears, but Soobin suggested they should do something grander.)

Everyone in the staff room was now crowded around Sunoo’s desk, trying to get a sneak peek of the gift that the man held in his hands. Reaching inside the bag, he grabbed the letter and read it.

To the prettiest man I have ever seen,

I hope this necklace is just as pretty as you are.

From, 

Mr. Park.

Holding the letter close to his chest, Sunoo shielded the letter from everyone’s prying eyes. “Sunoo! Who is it from?” Jungwon pushed past Niki just to get closer to Sunoo, and if he weren’t the principal, maybe Niki would’ve caused a riot because of it. Sunoo holds the letter tighter, making sure that no one can grab it from his hands. “No one! Don’t you guys have anything better to do?”

“No, not really.”

Amidst all the chaos and noise, there was someone in the corner who watched Sunoo defend the letter with a tight-lipped smile on his face.

Yeji places her books next to Soobin, turning towards him and speaking in a hushed voice, lest their librarian yell at them again for the sixth time that week. “So? You placed the gift on his desk, right?” The dimpled boy smiled triumphantly, nodding excitedly at her. “We did! Though we got roped into a two-hour tutoring session by Mr. Sim for Physics. Yeonjun’s an idiot.”

Confused, Yeji gestures for him to explain, grabbing another book from the shelf next to them and placing it on her pile. Without missing a beat, Soobin goes off to explain everything that happened, telling her of how they got caught by Mr. Sim in the staff room. 

“Yeonjun, instead of pulling off another excuse, decided that he was going to tell Mr. Sim he needed help with Physics.”

“And Mr. Sim was obviously happy about that, wasn’t he? Yeonjun’s failing the class, too.”

“Oh, he was ecstatic. Went off about how he expects to see Yeonjun do well for their upcoming test.” Soobin scoffed at that, placing a book he had just grabbed back onto the shelf when he deemed it useless to him. “I’d like to see how Yeonjun’s going to pull this off. He can’t just sit through hours of Mr. Sim personally tutoring him, just to fail another test. He needs to get his shit together, for real.” Yeji laughs incredulously, sceptical that Yeonjun could learn a whole topic’s worth of content in less than a week.

Picking up a book, Yeji read the title, A Beginner’s Guide to Organic Chemistry. She didn’t need it, per se, considering chemistry was her best subject. But it doesn’t harm to do some extra reading.

“I wonder if Mr. Kim figured it out?”

“Figured out what? ”

Just then, a figure came barreling towards them, slightly frantic. Lia, who was huffing and puffing as if she had just run a mile, held a hand in front of them to stop, much to the other two’s confusion. “Lia? You good?” Soobin chewed the inside of his cheek nervously; if Lia came to them looking so frantic, then it must be about Mr. Kim and Mr. Park, even though she never wanted to involve herself with the situation.

“I know I said I’d never involve myself in this, but I just overheard something important.” 

“Well?” Yeji pursed her lips, waiting for Lia to catch her breath and tell them what was going on. Honestly, Yeji finds it impressive how Soobin managed to get this many people invested in their little project, even if they’ve explicitly stated that they never wanted to be involved. Though it makes her wonder, why the hell are they so curious about their teachers’ love lives to the point of doing all this?

“I overheard Mr. Kim asking Mr. Park—no, not the right Mr. Park, the English teacher one, about the necklace! Just what did you guys write in that letter?” Lia directed her attention to Soobin, knowing full well he was the main instigator of the whole thing. Bewildered, Yeji let out a loud exclamation, only to be hushed by their librarian. “Choi Soobin, what name did you guys write on that letter?!”

“We wrote Mr. Park! I didn’t think he’d mistake it for the other one! ”

“Oh, you fucking idiot!”

Just as Yeji yelled that out, their librarian stormed towards them, unimpressed at their ruckus. “If you three don’t lower your volumes soon, you certainly will be in detention for the rest of the week.” Apologising, Yeji told them to keep it hushed, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. “Why would you write Mr. Park instead of his actual name?”

Soobin tapped on his chin, once, twice, until a sheepish grin grew on his face, and Yeji knew she was going to feel her blood pressure spike. “...We don’t actually know Mr. Park’s first name.” To say that both Lia and Yeji were astonished was an understatement, because they couldn’t comprehend how none of the three boys who were tasked to do something so simple couldn’t do it right. 

“So you’re telling me that in all the years you’ve been in this school, you don’t actually know Mr. Park’s full name? Even though it’s written on literally all of his teaching materials?” Yeji stated this matter of factly, whilst Lia just stared at Soobin with her mouth agape.

“Is this what you meant when you said you ‘wonder if Mr. Kim figured it out?’”

“...Maybe.”

“Clearly, there’s a reason why I said I’d never involve myself. Good luck, Yeji. I don’t know how you deal with this headache.” Patting Yeji’s back sympathetically, Lia sauntered her way out of the library, purposefully ignoring the piercing glare that their librarian shot at her. After Lia’s departure, silence befalls the two friends, but there’s a nagging feeling that Soobin can feel radiating off of Yeji. Honestly, he was just waiting to be yelled at—again, for that matter.

“His name is Sunghoon.”

“Huh?”

Yeji pinched her brows in frustration. “ Sunghoon. His name is Sunghoon. I can’t believe none of you knew? He’s Kai’s homeroom teacher, too!” Soobin supposes Yeji’s anger at them was completely valid. “Sorry, Kai couldn’t remember it for the life of him. And I’ve just never heard anyone say his first name! Mr. Kim always just calls him ‘Park’, or some other insult.”

There’s really no use in getting angry over something that’s in the past. Yeji prays that someone out there pitied them enough to at least make this plan go their way. “Just hope that the other Mr. Park says something about it and directs Mr. Kim to the right Mr. Park.”

“Whatever you just said made me extremely confused.”

The chorus of the school bell brought about relief to the students and teachers, with the students filing out of the gates in an attempt to avoid the incoming rain that was looming over the town. 

Once the last of the crowd of students trickled out of the school grounds, Sunoo packed up his things and tried to hurry, considering his car was still at the repair shop, and the next time he’d be able to get it back was the next day. There’s no way Sunoo was going to allow himself to get drenched whilst commuting on the way home.

But it seemed as if the world had other plans for him.

As he walked towards the exit of the school building, the rumbling of thunder shook the hallways, and the dark clouds shrouded the sky even more. The pitter-patter of rain began to come, filling the air with the smell of wet mud and grass, and Sunoo knew that a storm was easily brewing. If he makes a dash for it, perhaps he wouldn’t get too wet.

Hopefully.

Scavenging through his bag, Sunoo hoped that he had packed his umbrella with him, but he couldn’t find it. “Shit, did I leave my umbrella on the kitchen counter?” He groaned loudly out of pure frustration.

In his haste to find his umbrella and leave as soon as possible, he failed to discern the clacking of shoes that made their way towards him, and he jumped when he heard a voice from his side.

“I can take you home if you want. It’s pouring, and you don’t have a car with you.”

Sunghoon’s voice was gentle, sweet , even. It was void of the usual teasing tone that it often had, replaced with a much softer, much more tender and endearing one that Sunoo felt his heart take a leap.

He’s never felt this way with someone before. At least, not until Sunghoon.

“Are you sure? You don’t have to take me if it’s going to be a hassle.” Sunoo fiddles with the strap of his bag, his gaze flickering from Sunghoon’s face to the dark and bleak sky. Sunghoon merely shakes his head at him, motioning for Sunoo to walk with him out as he readies his umbrella for them.

Sunoo’s right next to him now, their shoulders brushing against each other and the smell of citrus infiltrates his space. A zing floods through Sunghoon’s veins, almost as if he ingested some concoction that he’s stirred up in the lab.

It drove him crazy.

Gently, Sunghoon pulls Sunoo closer by the sleeve of his corduroy jacket, making sure that they’re both sheltered by his umbrella. They’re both speechless, huddled together as they walk towards Sunghoon’s car.

Sunghoon opens the car door for him, which Sunoo quietly thanks him for. Sunoo’s heart was beating rapidly in his chest, as if he were nursing a childish crush. Hell, it feels as if he was sent back to high school himself.

“It looks like the rain is just going to get worse.” Sunoo peers out of the car window, humming along to the pop song softly playing on the radio. Sunghoon chuckles, briefly glancing at Sunoo. “I thought the only thing you could ever talk about is history, hm?”

“Hey! My whole life doesn’t revolve around my job, y’know.” He prods Sunghoon’s side with his finger gently when they stop briefly at a red light, eliciting a bubble of giggles from Sunghoon. Somehow, that only made Sunoo feel lighter.

“Only teasing you, Sun.”

Fuck.

The dimple on Sunghoon’s cheek just makes him more attractive than he is. Sunoo has to remind himself sometimes that the man who was taking him home was perhaps the biggest nerd he knows (but that only makes him cuter in Sunoo’s eyes). He has a really nice face , Sunoo thinks.

“Thank you.”

“What?” Shocked, Sunoo whipped his head in Sunghoon’s direction comically, his eyes blown wide, and a ringing began in his ears from embarrassment. Sunghoon lets out a chorus of laughter, familiar with all the ways that make him Sunghoon . “You just said I have a nice face,” he replied, turning onto Sunoo’s street just as he did so. Shit, I said it out loud.

“Whatever.” Sunoo rolls his eyes, turning away from him and leaning his head on the window. He shut his eyes in embarrassment, his cheeks warming up as he tried to hide his face away from Sunghoon.

“Glad to know you think I’m hot, too.”

It was storming properly by now, the rain crashing loudly against the windows of the car, and Sunghoon’s wipers were having trouble keeping up with it. Sunoo worries that it will only get worse whilst Sunghoon is on his way home, and there’s a thought that’s been prickling at the back of his mind since he sat in the car.

“Thank you for the necklace, by the way.”

Sunghoon almost stepped on the brake in shock. “Thank you for what now?” Sunoo chuckles nervously, scratching at the back of his neck. What on earth is he talking about?

“The necklace. The letter said ‘From Mr. Park’, and Jay said it wasn’t him. Though I highly doubted it was him anyway.”

Sunghoon is stunned. Since when did he buy Sunoo a necklace? But before he could say anything, Sunoo continued. “You don’t have to say anything. Really, I’m grateful. It’s beautiful, Hoon. But why would you write Mr. Park instead of your name?”

Hoon. Sunoo called him Hoon. Guess there’s a first time for everything. 

If Sunghoon wasn’t driving at that moment, he would have definitely been jumping around in joy, perhaps even going insane and needing to calm his erratic heart before he crashed the car. But there’s obviously another matter on hand that he needs to address, so he shrugs Sunoo’s nickname off nonchalantly, acting as if it didn’t affect him as much as it actually did.

He decides to just play it off as if he were the one who gave it. After all, how much could a white lie really hurt? “I like the element of mystery. It’s fun.” Sunoo rolls his eyes at him, a small smile on his lips, and it tugs Sunghoon’s heart. Because of their constant bickering, Sunghoon got used to always seeing a frown on the other’s face. 

But Sunoo is prettier with a smile. As long as it’s directed at him.

They arrive at Sunoo’s apartment complex rather shortly, and Sunghoon parks his car in the car park. Sunoo doesn’t leave immediately, instead, he avoids eye contact with Sunghoon, looking down at his hands. “Sunoo, you okay?”

Sunoo didn’t want to meet his eyes at all, wringing his hands together nervously. His heart was pounding and would definitely increase more if he looked at him. 

“Do you want to stay with me?”

Oh fuck. Oh fuckity fuck.

Sunghoon is so glad he’s not driving anymore, or else they would have swerved and crashed into an oncoming tree—which, unfortunately, would’ve totally ended whatever fantasy he’s suddenly stepped into.

Sunoo really has a knack for knocking all the breath out of Sunghoon’s lungs. It seems as if Sunoo figured out what his words implied, too, because he panics for a moment, shaking his head vehemently and his cheeks turning crimson. “ No! Not in that way– I mean, it’s raining heavily right now, and it’ll be dangerous for you to go home in the storm. Just stay. You can leave when it’s calmed down a bit.”

Sunghoon didn’t have it in him to decline, not when Sunoo was innocently peeking at him from the corner of his eye. The light from the car park hit Sunoo’s collarbone at the right angle, and Sunghoon could see the silver of the chain that hung around his neck. Whoever bought that necklace was a godsend, if Sunghoon was being completely honest. The gem hanging from the necklace’s silver chain sparkled whenever Sunoo shifted slightly, looking delicate on rosy skin that Sunghoon wanted to run his fingers across. It sends him reeling, almost dizzy, because how could his own coworker make him feel this way? He had to figure out who gave it to Sunoo so he could thank them.

There’s an inkling in Sunghoon’s mind that’s telling him to agree, to say yes, because once they step outside of the car park, they’d be met with the crashing rain once again. It was difficult to see how Sunoo’s face was painted with the droplets of rain from the car window as he drove, considering he had to keep his eyes trained on the road. Perhaps staying with him would give him that opportunity he desired, if it meant that he could look at Sunoo as if he held the whole universe in his eyes.

But even then, the almost clinical, stark white lights from the car park painted Sunoo’s contours with an ethereal glow, coupled with the slightly warm tint from Sunghoon’s car light. It’s like seeing an angel in broad daylight (which, Sunghoon knew Sunoo would argue against him for, because apparently, biblically correct angels don’t look this pretty ).

Sunoo stared at him again, inviting and slightly nervous, before he mumbled his question shyly.

“Will you? Stay?”

Clearing his throat, Sunghoon took a sharp breath in. It couldn’t hurt to stay. Maybe he’d learn more about Sunoo that way.

“Sure. I’ll stay.”