The Indian summer brought with it a warm air that was unusual even compared to the unseasonable warmth that made Indian summer what it was.

Jaehwan and Hakyeon had decided to spend the afternoon in the park of the campus, pretending to study for their Maths test the day after. Jaehwan went to get his favourite iced coffee from the cafeteria, mixing five packets of sugar into his drink before walking back towards the tree under which Hakyeon was lying on his stomach, no doubt daydreaming about Taekwoon while drawing small hearts in his textbook and writing CHY × JTW in the middle of them. He was like a schoolgirl.

Jaehwan wanted to mock him and sing the Kissing Song, but then he noticed a tall, familiar figure lurking behind the wall of the Science building, looking as if he was up to no good.

Sanghyuk’s hair fell into his forehead, his faded black T-shirt stretching on his back as he bent over somewhat, taking a worn backpack off his shoulder. Jaehwan narrowed his eyes and hid in a niche, peeking from behind the wall.

“You can’t tell anyone, understand?” Sanghyuk asked in a low voice and he sounded so serious it made the hairs on Jaehwan’s arms stand on end. He tried to make himself believe it wasn’t from Sanghyuk sounding extremely hot while giving orders. (Jaehwan gulped down half of his coffee to freeze his irrational brain.) “You need to be very careful. Promise me you won’t show it to anyone.”

“I promise,” came the shaky, scared whisper.

“Good girl,” Sanghyuk said, making Jaehwan’s stomach tie into knots.

The praise made him remember the dream that kept returning to him: Sanghyuk towering over him, backing him up against a wall until Jaehwan could barely breathe from the close proximity of their bodies and he felt Sanghyuk’s heartbeat in his own chest. In his dream Sanghyuk would always lean close to his ear then and whisper his name—“Jaehwan, Jaehwan, Jaehwan” over and over—and when Jaehwan felt Sanghyuk’s breath ghost over his lips… he would always wake up angry and uncomfortable and hated Sanghyuk a little bit more than the day before.

“Spying on others, are we?”

Jaehwan took a sharp breath, blinking fast to force himself back into reality as Sanghyuk stood in front of him with his hands in his jeans’ pockets, cocking his head to the side curiously, his ever-present smirk making him appear rather condescending.

“What I’m doing here is none of your business,” Jaehwan grumbled, lifting his coffee to his mouth, but before he could have drunk from it through the straw, the cup got snatched away from him, Sanghyuk beaming at him victoriously.

Jaehwan watched Sanghyuk wrap his mouth around the straw, and when he smacked his lips in a satisfied manner, Jaehwan felt like kicking the boy in the shin.

“I’ll see you around,” Sanghyuk said, holding up the coffee to its ex-owner, thus bidding goodbye to Jaehwan before sauntering away, no doubt squaring his shoulders just because he knew how broad they were and how attractive that might look to certain bystanders.

“Nice back,” Hakyeon (one of two certain bystanders) said, appearing next to Jaehwan. “But he could work on his a little bit more.”

“Says the one who’s crushing on Mr. Pancake ,” Jaehwan mumbled.

“Oh, so now you’re defending him?” Hakyeon snorted, elbowing into Jaehwan’s side. “We could go on double dates!”

“If I still had my coffee, I’d throw it in your face,” Jaehwan said and turned around, walking towards the dormitories, mourning his loss.