As soon as he saw Youngjae that morning, Jongup knew something was up.

Youngjae had that dazed smile on his face, his eyes were distant and he randomly giggled to himself from time to time. Perhaps a little concerned about his friend’s wellbeing, Jongup approached him during their break. Youngjae didn’t notice him even as Jongup sat beside him. To get his attention, Jongup had to snap his fingers in front of Youngjae’s face.

“You there?” Jongup called.

Youngjae glanced over, but it was as if he was looking through Jongup. “Uppie, something beautiful happened.”

“I can see that. Tell me all about it,” Jongup said, sipping his smoothie.

Youngjae sighed deeply and turned towards Jongup. “I don’t know if I want to tell you, of all people.”

Jongup seemed offended. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Youngjae made an uncertain, hissing noise. “You tend to be... Hm... Your pessimism kills the vibe of having a crush.”

Jongup gasped. “I am not pessimistic, I just don’t like to get my hopes up! Besides, I wouldn’t do such a thing, especially not now.”

Youngjae scooted over and nudged Jongup, placing his chin on his palms. “Now? Why’s now different huh? Tell me, Jongup.”

The other just shrugged and took another sip. “I met someone,” he dropped casually. “It’s not a crush,” he warned, seeing Youngjae getting excited. “I just met someone who I happened to like.”

“That’s kind of the definition of a crush, but whatever you say. Either way, I have to hear all about it. Who starts?”

“I’ll let you have your fun. And then you’ll see how our situations are very different,” Jongup said, giving Youngjae a look.

He scrunched up his nose but said nothing else on the topic. “Alright, so,

“I was sitting alone in this coffee shop when it started to get crowded. And as I was getting ready to leave, this guy approaches my table. He was so adorable, I don’t even know how to explain it! He was tall, like towering me tall, but he seemed so harmless! The entire time I couldn’t stop thinking about squishing his cheeks, they were so, so soft... And he had a dog in his backpack this sweet little fur ball...”

“Focus, Youngjae,” Jongup reminded.

“Right, so he approached my table and asked me if he could sit with me because it’s his favourite spot and he had an assignment to finish and he works best there. And of course I didn’t turn him down, in fact I decided to stay longer simply because he was so cute and just being in his presence made me so... Happy in a way. We didn’t talk much at first because he was working and honestly he’s so shy and adorable I didn’t have the heart to bother him—”

“Admit it, you were scared to start a conversation,” Jongup cut in.

Youngjae blushed furiously and nudged Jongup. “Not true. The boy had an assignment to finish, I didn’t want to bother him!”

“Sure if you say so,” Jongup teased.

Youngjae threw his arms in the air. “Honestly why do I bother telling you anything?”

Jongup chuckled; he always found it so amusing when Youngjae was worked up about something. However, he reassured Youngjae, “No, no, keep talking. I’m interested.”

“Okay... Well, eventually he asked me to take care of his dog because the cutie was getting restless and he still had some work to finish. This is when we started talking and he told me that he’s a student and that he’d moved to Seoul only recently, six months ago I think. He told me that he likes dancing and that he’s looking for a studio to join.”

This started to look suspicious to Jongup. Doubt seeped into him, and maybe even fear. Fear of sharing a crush with his best friend. Yet he said nothing, only listening to the story. Perhaps he was mistaken. Some things checked out but overall, Youngjae’s crush sounded a lot different to Jongup’s.

“I can’t quite put it into words,” Youngjae said, looking up to the sky. “How... peaceful it was in his company. And sure my heart almost escaped my chest a few times but I was so happy. He was so hesitant and shy, I wanted to cuddle him right then and there.”

Jongup listened with a smile on his face, nodding along. Seeing Youngjae happy and in love made him happy too. He hadn’t even noticed, but somewhere along the way he’d rested his hand on Youngjae’s. The other didn’t complain, instead started playing with Jongup’s hand and the rings he was wearing.

“It had started raining while we were still inside, but I didn’t have an umbrella.” He laughed at himself, shaking his head and looking down to hide his flushed cheeks. “It’s ridiculous and it sounds so cliché, but it’s true. He offered to walk me home because he had one.”

“And?” Jongup prompted, genuinely interested in whether something else had happened.

Youngjae shrugged one shoulder, keeping his gaze on Jongup’s fingers as he laced them with his own. “And he walked me home and asked for my phone number...”

“Phone number!” Jongup said excitedly, gently squeezing Youngjae’s hand. “That’s amazing! That was your day Youngjae, you conquered.”

Youngjae grinned, bright self-satisfaction evident on his face. “I guess I did.”

Jongup was less worried now, seeing how the story went from beginning to end. Even though some details matched, he was convinced that they were talking about a different person.

“So, what happened to you?” Youngjae inclined, as if in a rush to change the topic.

Jongup grinned. “It’s a good one. You know that party my dance studio hosted last Saturday?” Youngjae nodded. “Well, that was sort of a promotional party, we wanted to get some new people to join. I was just sitting around with Hakyeon, didn’t feel like showing off too much, when we noticed a circle being formed. People were cheering someone on, so we decided to go and check it out.

“And there, in the middle of it all, this guy is dancing. He was... Really good. Insanely good. I’d never seen him before so I figured he was new. And if he joined... I felt like my position was in danger.”

Youngjae grinned, rolling his eyes. “Jonguppie~ No one could ever take your place.”

“I’m glad you believe in me,” he said, returning the smile. Then his gaze grew distant. “But Jae you haven’t seen him... He was magical—“

“So you can be sappy sometimes. When there’s a dancing hottie,” Youngjae said and poked Jongup’s cheek.

Jongup swatted him away and shook his head. “I am not being sappy! This isn’t your kind of story, Jae. This is the kind of story where I almost got hard in the middle of a party because of this guy and his moves. This isn’t Cinderella’s ball and waltzing, it’s the complete opposite. He was grinding the stage, Youngjae. He was looking at everyone with a gaze that can impregnate, no jokes.”

“Oh,” Youngjae muttered, blushing only from Jongup’s words. “What did you do?

Jongup shrugged dismissively. “Had a dance off.”

“Did you win?”

“Erm...” Jongup thought back to it. “Well... Almost.”

Youngjae grinned, seeing the perfect opportunity to tease Jongup. “What happened, huh? It got too much? Or was the guy simply better than you?”

Jongup lightly hit Youngjae’s arm. “He was not better! He just... He used dirty tricks! I was on my way to winning and he—“ What amazed Youngjae was that Jongup was blushing. Jongup. Blushing. That never happened.

“He got too close,” Jongup muttered. “I had to go quickly.”

“I see. The hottie was a bit too hot for you.”

Jongup hit Youngjae again, causing the other to chuckle. “But it’s true!”

“Anyway,” Jongup said, glaring at Youngjae. The beautiful, rare blush was still on his cheeks. “I met him the day after when he was joining the studio. I got his instagram username then.” He shrugged.

“And?” Youngjae asked, eyes glistening.

“And what?”

“Well, he must have said something!”

Jongup nodded hesitantly. He had subconsciously left that part out because it scared him. How the guy had acted that day made him seem a lot like the guy from Youngjae’s story. Jongup bit his lip. “He... Apologized. He said he was drunk and hadn’t meant to go so far. Anyways, have you called your guy?” Jongup asked to change the subject.

Youngjae bit his lip. “No... Not yet.”

“You have to!”

“Do you think I don’t know that!?” Youngjae said, hiding his face in his hands. “I just...

“You’re too shy,” Jongup finished the sentence for him. “Youngjae, nothing bad can happen. You have to make a move for things to start moving!”

“I know, I know...”

“Tonight.”

Youngjae looked up, traces of fear visible in his eyes. “But—“

“No buts, call him tonight.”

Youngjae pouted, again playing with Jongup’s rings. “... Fine.”

“And tell me how it goes.”

“Of course.”

* * *

Jongup waited for news from Youngjae, promptly forgetting his own love life. Mainly because he didn’t want a love life, he ignored the existence of the hot newbie in his dance studio and focused on helping Youngjae snatch himself a boyfriend.

The message he received wasn’t the one he’d expected.

Youngjae had sent him an account on instagram. Junhong’s account. Junhong, the guy from the party.

‘is this your guy?’ was the message that accompanied it.

‘the one from the party, yes. Why?’ Jongup sent, feeling his heart rate increasing. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like this at all.

Instead of receiving another message, Jongup’s phone rang. When he picked up, he only hard Youngjae’s sigh, he himself unable to speak.

“How do I say this,” Youngjae said.

“It’s the same guy,” Jongup stated flatly. It was exactly as he’d feared. He had no idea how to feel. He still hoped, somewhere in the depths of his soul that Youngjae would start laughing and say it was all a prank, but he knew that it wasn’t. He knew.

“It is,” Youngjae confirmed. “But how?”

Jongup suddenly felt irritated, as if he had been lied to. “I don’t know! It seemed like we were talking about completely different people! How can one person—“

“—have such different sides!”

They both went quiet, contemplating it. It seemed surreal. Then again Jongup had suspected it. He’d seen how Junhong had acted when he wasn’t drunk and fired up. He was sweet, shy and awkward... Almost exactly like the boy from Youngjae’s story.

Jongup sighed. “What do we do now?”