You'd think by the ripe and youthful age of 19, Park Jihoon would've found his one true love. Afterall, isn't that what typically happens? The lead always meets the love of his/her life at the first episode.

 

However, as bittersweet as the truth may be, Jihoon may have been the receiving end of somebody's first love, but he didn't reciprocate the feelings.

 

His looks scream main character, but his heart screams that side character who's only role is to eat. Even Jihoon was baffled with the turn of events in his life, but he soon got used to being left alone, in the romantic sense.

 

Park Jihoon is an independent man who needs no man.

 

But change is the only constant thing in this world, and so when a certain Park Woojin enters the scene, Jihoon learned that his heart may not be that insensitive all along.

 

---

 
Jihoon stared quite excessively at the other male walking to their direction. Who can blame him? It's the first time he's seen another god after he himself fell from heaven. ahem

 

To put it simply, Woojin is jeongmal jinjja daebak real jeol wanjeon handsome.

 

With his towering height of approximately 172cm (Jihoon might be exaggerating here just a bit), his beautiful pair of black eyes, his perfectly shaped pinkish (just what brand is the lipstick he's using, to be honest) lips, his cute nose, his body built that is just right (strong but still huggable), even his freaking ears are adorable to Jihoon's eyes, and he hasn't even met the guy, so that really say something.

 

Though even to his deathbed, Jihoon will never, never admit that he fell so hard when Woojin reached them and smiled, showing his snaggletooth.

 

"Hyung, I didn't know you'll be here!" Guanlin greeted him cheerfully.

 

Woojin raised an eyebrow at him. "It's a school day, though? And we're in school. Of course, I'll be here."

 

Guanlin just acted shy and smiled. "That was stupid, I'm sorry. Anyway hyung, meet my newest friend, Jihoon!"

 

The other male finally turned his attention to the already smiling face of Jihoon. "New friend? You don't have other friends, Guanlin ah."

 

"Hyung, why are you being like this?"

 

Woojin laughed. Jihoon fell even harder (he's not sure how). The male held out his hand to him. "Nice to meet you! I'm Woojin."

 

Jihoon looked at the hand and internally panicked. How do I do this?? Do I shake his hand lightly to show I'm nice and sweet? Do I shake it hard to show dominance?

 

A few awkward seconds passed and Jihoon was still looking at the hand. Woojin read this as Jihoon not wanting to be his friend, so he took his hand back and fake coughed.

 

"Ha ha Guanlin ah, I guess your friend doesn't like me."

 

Jihoon looked at him with big, doe eyes. "I do!" he said suddenly. I do like you, he wanted to say, but Jihoon caught himself. "I.. I do want to be your friend. It's just that I'm not used to making friends so I don't know what to do."

 

Woojin laughed at this, amused but understanding. "Alright, I guess you'll just have to get used to us, then. Guanlin won't let you go, you know."

 

Jihoon just nodded, not knowing what to say.

 

"I need to go now, though. See you later!" Woojin said, immediately running to the entrance of the school building behind them. Guanlin just waved his hand to his disappearing figure, while Jihoon sighed wistfully.

 

This is it, he thought. This is finally it. The first episode of my romance anime.

 

---

 

It was not, in fact, the first episode, because a week had passed after their fateful meeting and Jihoon still hasn't caught sight of his Woojin (yes, his Woojin).

 

He already met and started hanging out with Guanlin, Daewhi, and Jinyoung. However, due to his and Woojin's conflicting class schedule, there was no moment to meet.

 

Today, he's with them at the cafeteria, spending time doing unproductive .

 

"Why don't you try joining any clubs, Jihoon?" Daehwi asked him. The blonde-haired boy was currently munching on some chips (full of nothing but air) Jinyoung brought.

 

Jinyoung nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I agree. You're so smart for suggesting that, Daehwi ah." He threw out a thumbs-up to his boyfriend.

 

Jihoon shrugged. "I don't like drama."

 

"So this is why you rejected us? To be with these normal people?" Teen Royalty's Ong Seongwoo's accusing voice suddenly invaded the group's personal bubble.

 

Seongwoo's with his friends, Daniel and Minhyun, who looked so done with everything and might just kill all of them at this point.

 

Jihoon rolled his eyes at the trio. "How did you even get here?"

 

"Told you this was a bad idea." Daniel quirked up. This annoyed Seongwoo.

 

"The only bad thing here is you talking, Daniel."

 

"What did you say, little chocolate?!"

 

"Oh, you wanna fight, popsicle?"

 

Minhyun cleared his throat. "You two are basically married, even using nicknames when fighting. I'd say you're adorable but I'm dead inside so just no."

 

Seongwoo put his hand on his chest, looking offended. "How dare..??"

 

"Married?!" Daniel reacted, blushing. "Why don't you go and get yourself a trampoline since you like jumping to conclusions so much!"

 

Magically, another trio appeared out of nowhere. This time, it's YMC's infamous choir group.

 

Jisung was the first one to speak. "Why don't we all just get along?"

 

"Because everyone's a basic fake ?" Jaehwan supplied, posing as if he's in deep thought.

 

"You know, Jaehwan, this is why you don't have an important role here. Your lines ." Sungwoon said.

 

Jaehwan's visibly taken aback. ", you did not just say that."

 

In the midst of it all, Daehwi decided to take one for the team and made the statement. "You are all ing weird."

 

---

 

Due to his misery of missing Woojin, Jihoon felt deeply sorrowful. He sighed and stared longingly at the sky. He's on the rooftop of their school building, being all sad and , as anime rules apply.

 

He briefly thought about what he should do if Woojin suddenly appeared in front of him.

 

"Hey, Jihoon." A friendly, but deep and loud voice resonated throughout the rooftop, reaching Jihoon's ears.

 

He turned to the voice, and saw Woojin, in his mighty fine glory, looking at him.

 

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

 

Jihoon quickly thought of a reason. "Nothing?" he replied dumbly. Well, he is a dumb person, so cut him some slack will you?

 

Woojin just laughed (seriously, he laughs like all the time).

 

"I guess this time is ours to share. We haven't really seen each other that much, I think."

 

Is this it? Could this be our real first episode? Jihoon thought.

 

"Oh, the door's locked." Woojin said out of nowhere. Jihoon didn't notice him going back to the door leading down to the building.

 

"It's what?!"

 

"Locked."

 

Jihoon internally panicked yet again. Is this really it??

 

"Don't worry, Jihoon. I got this." Woojin smiled, looking cool.

 

Jihoon smiled back. What will he do? omg Will we have that cute anime montage where we'll look at each others' eyes and talk about the future and about us and--

 

Woojin got his phone from his back pocket and dialed a number. A few seconds later, a short 'ding' is heard, signalling both of them that the call has been connected. Jihoon wonders who the male will talk to for--

 

"Mom!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Jihoon found out later that the person Woojin called is not actually his mom, but another student named Youngmin, who is Woojin's closest friend.)

 

---

 

They met again at a local coffee shop near the school. It's not something spontaneous as hanging out together, though. It's just a coincidence that, at that moment, Jihoon craved for coffee, and in a surprising turn of events (that Jihoon should've expected, if we're being frank here), Woojin was the one managing the counter.

 

"Oh, Jihoon! It's you."

 

Jihoon blushed after hearing him say his name. It's not special, but Jihoon felt happy being reminded of the fact that Woojin knew him.

 

"Do you work here?" He asked.

 

Woojin smiled at him. "Duh." he swiftly pointed at his nametag. "So, what can I get you?"

 

"One cup of attention."

 

".... what?"

 

Jihoon blushed like a hormonal teenage girl in love. "An iced coffee, I mean."

 

"One pretty cup of iced coffee for a pretty man, coming right up!" Woojin announced rather loudly, catching the attention of some of the customers.

 

"Oh my god." Jihoon whispered. He's definitely going to be a regular at this cafe.

 

Jihoon hoped for a better love life, and so he came storming eagerly to the cafe the next day to get his daily fix of Park Woojin.

 

He was greeted by another person, though. Jihoon looked at the nametag on his left chest. Hyunseob, it said.

 

"Good morning, what can I get you today?"

 

"Is Woojin here?" Jihoon asked, voice laced with hope.

 

Hyunseob gave him a judgmental look. "Your order is Woojin?"

 

".... yes?"

 

"He's not here."

 

Jihoon sighed. "Will he be here later? I can just go back."

 

Hyunseob shook his head. "Nope. He got fired yesterday for mixing up weird drinks."

 

Clearly, the world didn't want Jihoon to be happy.

 

---

 

Jihoon was beginning to think that the romance anime his life is trying to be is actually just one of those animes where there are more filler episodes than actual content.

 

His current predicament made Jihoon want to jump on the nearest cliff. It didn't help that he's constantly stuck to outrageous situations involving the very company he wanted to avoid.

 

Today, he's randomly selected to represent his year for the YMC High School Flower Boy competition. He wasn't interested at first, but when he found out that Woojin will also be one of the representatives, he agreed to join.

 

There's no fancy pageant held. Students were just asked to vote on their favorite boy and whoever had the most votes wins. The voting started during their first class. For now, everyone's just waiting for the announcement of the winner.

 

Jihoon wasn't excited nor nervous. But five minutes into the announcement, Woojin entered their classroom and headed straight to Jihoon.

 

"Whatever happens, we're still friends. Even if you win or I do, we'll still be friends right?" He asked. Woojin seemed to take the competition seriously.

 

"I.. I guess?" Jihoon supplied intelligently. Nailed it.

 

Woojin grabbed Jihoon's hand and held it. He closed his eyes, and Jihoon felt like falling all over again. Woojin's not just holding his hand, but also his heart. He closed his eyes too.

 

A static was heard on the speakers before the familiar voice of Sungwoon played through. "The student council is proud to announce the winner of our 2018 YMC High School Flower Boy, and he is... Noh Taehyun!"

 

Awkward silence followed Jihoon and Woojin for the next seconds. Woojin fake coughed (again) and silently left the room.

 

It took a moment for the students to realize the winner. When they did, though, it sparked World War III.

 

For a week, only one line was heard spoken by the rebels of the competition. "He doesn't even go here!"

 

---

 

The Teen Royalty (who were suspiciously not nominated) visited him the next day and gave Jihoon totally-no-homo hugs to comfort him in losing the competition he didn't care for.

 

The hugs came with additional pats on the back and "don't cry, everything's gonna be alright bro" sentiments. Jihoon appreciated this a little bit, because it meant that his friendship with Teen Royalty wasn't so shallow afterall.

 

"So.." Seongwoo started. "Ready to join us now?"

 

Jihoon just glared at him. Seongwoo lost any hope.

 

Daniel cleared his throat, trying to catch everyone's attention like an adult. "Anyway, we have some news."

 

"What news?" Jihoon asked, interested.

 

"Seongwoo and I are a couple!"

 

"No ." Jihoon responded, earning a laugh from Minhyun.

 

"I told you you're already married at this point. You were so obvious." Minhyun added.

 

Daniel scoffed at him. "Like you and Jaehwan are any better."

 

Jihoon almost fell from a chair due to shock. Fortunately, he's standing up so that's impossible.

 

"I didn't know you two were a couple!" He exclaimed. Minhyun just scratched the back of his neck in response, a blush adorning his cheeks.

 

"Everyone is getting into relationships yet here I am." Jihoon said sadly.

 

Seongwoo looked at him. "You have Woojin, though?"

 

"What?"

 

Daniel laughed. "Don't tell me you didn't notice? He's always asking for you."

 

Woojin blushed. "He does?"

 

Minhyun nodded in agreement. "He even got fired from his job because he was making a special drink for you. What an idiot."

 

"He did?!"

 

Seongwoo raised an eyebrow. "Are you actually this clueless? Now I understand why Woojin needed to join that competition so he had a good reason to talk to you. You obviously didn't see eye to eye."

 

Jihoon just looked at them, confusion all over his face.

 

Daniel patted him on his back again. "Go get your man, bro."

 

---

 

Jihoon saw Woojin near the gates of the school. He looked like he's about to head home, so Jihoon ran to him, stopping only a few steps away. The moment their eyes met, pink petals started falling from the sky.

 

"Hey Jiho--"

 

"I like you!" Jihoon suddenly yelled at him. "I've liked you from the start! You're like the coolest and most handsome guy I've seen and I've seen a lot of cute guys, just so you know."

 

Woojin looked at him, dumbfounded.

 

Jihoon continued. "And although this is selfish, I hope I'm the cutest guy for you, because if there's someone cuter than me I swear to god I will jeojang you to death."

 

Woojin laughed. "You've jeojanged the hell out of me already, Park Jihoon."

 

He moved closer to him. "But I wouldn't mind if you want to jeojang me harder so I'll fall deeper." He smiled, showing his glorious snaggletooth. It seemed like he's aware of its effect on Jihoon.

 

Jihoon hit him on the head. "Stop it, you're embarrassing."

 

"So.." Woojin reached for his hand and held it. "Should we start it?"

 

"Start what?"

 

Woojin smiled cheekily. "Our own romance anime."

 

Jihoon's face turned red with embarrassment but he still nodded. "I'd love to."

 

They looked into each others' eyes, wanting nothing more than to be with each other.

 

Somewhere in the distance, a voice can be heard spouting nonsense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What about me? Where's my lovelife??"

 

 

 

(its guanlin)