“You are precisely forty-three minutes late,” is the first thing Jessica says by way of greeting as she taps her foot impatiently. She practically shoves her phone into his face and Donghae blinks through the bright digital screen that tell him yea, he’s really forty-three minutes late in fact.

“S—sorry,” Donghae says as he tries to catch his breath, his hand clutching over his rabidly beating heart like it would fall out of his chest at any moment. “There was a four cars piled up on the freeway and somehow a goat got out from a farm truck so several of the lanes were blocked.”

Jessica stares at him unimpressed, arms folded over her chest in an impression that deeply reminds him of his own mother. “Why am I not surprised.” She sighs, tucking her phone back into her bag. “The fact that you even got here at all is miracle in itself.”

“Sorry,” he says again, because what else can he say when he was the one who asked her to be attend their school’s club rush with him. Nobody else would go with him so he had begged Jessica to come and she’d only agree on his behalf because she knew he wanted to see and be part of the campus’ social festivity even if there are very few clubs that would take him.

“Yea, yea, it’s fine,” she says, waving his apology off. “Come on, the debate club has been trying to seduce with their K-pop Karaoke Contest since I’ve arrived here. The grand prize winner gets a free ticket to MAX’s summer concert and I plan to thoroughly trash the competition. ”

There’s a menacing glint in her eyes as she grabs hold of his arm and tugs him further into the mass of student bodies. Donghae lets himself be drag through the crowd, his eyes darting across concession stands, games, and festivity meant to lure students in and promotes their club of choice.

They are nearly there, the loud pop music blasting from a tent in front of them is a clear indication as any, when several excited screams and claps from a tent nearby draw their attention.   

Donghae pulls to a stop and Jessica quickly follows as his eyes find source of the ruckus—a huge crowd have gather around the baseball club’s wheel of fortune game and at the center of it all is a young man with a handful of stuff animal and gifts vouchers in one arm.

“You win… again,” one of the club members manning the stand says, making a face in obvious displeasure.

“One more time!” someone shouts among the crowd and the people around him cheers even louder in agreement.

The young man who is causing all this commotion heave a heavy sigh and steps forward for another attempt.

“Hey, that’s him,” Jessica says, snapping Donghae’s attention back to her. “The famed Lee Hyukjae who is said to be the luckiest bastard in the world.”

“Oh,” Donghae says, flicking his eyes back to Hyukjae again in time to catch the wheel stopping at another ‘WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER’ sign, lighting up as Hyukjae once again proclaim as the winner.

“He was in my lit class last semester and let’s just says every class day with him was… interesting,” she says wryly, the corner of her tugging downward. “One time there was an actually brawl over his pen when he left it on his desk and the girl who managed to fight her way for it was said to have won a book deal with the manuscript she submitted written with his pen. So near the end of the semester, they were literally paying tribute to him so he may bless them on passing their final exams. ”

“Wow,” Donghae says, wincing. He can’t imagine being constantly harassed like that with no room to breathe and turn into a side show attraction just because of who he is. “That’s rather awkward.”

Jessica glowers. “Annoying is more like it,” she huffs, making her distain as clear as day.

Donghae nods in agreement, unsurprised by Jessica’s statement. Jessica, who bulldozed her way into his life since they’d first met knew all about Donghae and his… rather unique quirk and had choose to stay with him on the sole premise that he’ll make her life ten times more interesting, had never shown any interest other to laugh at him when it all go wrong.  

Jessica takes a moment to look him down, scrutinizing him hard enough that Donghae shift his feet nervously before turning to Hyukjae and then back to him with a mischievous grin. “So hey, why don’t we go over there and I’ll introduce you two?” She jabs at him encouragingly. “Maybe he can do something about that disaster deposition of yours and let Lady Fortune smile upon you for once.”

“Nah,” Donghae says, shrugging. He thinks of the Hyukjae who stood at the center of attention, alone and reserved as the crowd’s excitement swallowed him whole even as he wore the most sullen and bored expression on his face. That isn’t someone who looks happy to be bask in the fortune the gods have favor him. “It isn’t his job to make my life better.”

Jessica just stares at him, face blank and not giving him any hint of what she’s feeling beneath it before leaning forward and pinches his cheek.

“Ouch,” Donghae whines, touching the stinging area where she had pinched him. “What was that for?”

She grins cheekily, taking a step back. “I knew you are my favorite for a reason. Ok let’s go, that first place got my name all over it!”

---

The shoe flies and flies across the air like a rocket on a mission until it lands on the overhang of the largest tree in the park near them.

“Oh my god,” one of his friends screeches as others bend over in laughter. “Only you Donghae!”

Donghae flushes a beat red, pointedly not staring at the soccer ball in front of him that is steadfastly remaining where it is after the missed kick. “Shut up.”

His friends stop the soccer game momentarily to pat him on the shoulder sympathically and endlessly about missing the kick and losing his shoe.

“And that’s… Lee Donghae,” Junsu finishes, the side of his lips twitch in amusement. “Your cosmic twin.”

Hyukjae makes a face but doesn’t remove himself from the scene like something is holding him in place as though he was meant to be here to witness this all along.

He watches as Donghae breaks from the pack. “I’ll be right back!” he yells over his shoulders to his friends, smiling even as he races across the field with only a single shoe on.

Leaving the match and his friends behind, he heads toward the area where Hyukjae and Junsu are sitting on a bench and where his shoe had caught on a branch of a tree.

Donghae stops in front of them and gives short nod of a greeting to Junsu and Hyukjae before turning his attention to the tree.

The shoe sits high on top of the tree, on a branch that arches a considerable feet up in the air with his shoe hanging off it like a lifeline that’s about to give up. A fall from height would hurt significantly, but Donghae, not deterred, kicks off his other remaining shoe and steadily starts the climb upward.

He reaches to top half of the tree and slowly inches his way to a thick branch that look like it would just hold his weight. Using other tree’s limbs nearby to hold him up as he walks across it until he’s right underneath the branch that holds his shoe.

He extends his hand upward as far he can, fingers briefly missing the shoe by inches until one more exerted effort that has him on his toes, he finally got it.

Before Donghae can he even celebrate, the branch he’s standing on creaks under his weight and Hyukjae can hears the distinctive crack from the branch about to break free from the trunk. /p>

Donghae drops down on the branch with his shoe in hand and hugs the thick limb to keep balance.

Hyukjae doesn’t know what propel him, maybe its curiosity, maybe its boredom, or maybe it’s something else but he steps forward, ignoring Junsu’s protest and finds himself standing underneath the tree.

He stares up at where Donghae is, clinging to the branch for dear life and looking worn out. “Jump,” Hyukjae instructs from down below.

“But—” Donghae bites his lip as he stares down at the distance from where he is to the ground and he shakes his head frantically.

It’s far, Hyukjae knows. “I’ll catch you,” he insists, holding his arms out. “You won’t fall.” He doesn’t know what he’s saying or why he’s saying these words to someone he’d never met, someone he had only briefly heard about around campus but more importantly Donghae has no reason to believe in Hyukjae’s words especially from a stranger. It’s ridiculous. Absurd even.

Donghae shut his eyes and breathes, and Hyukjae thought it was the end of that but then he jumps, pushing himself off the branch and into the air just as the branch gives away under him.

Hyukjae steps forward just right under Donghae in time and catches Donghae by the hip, Donghae falls right into his arm like a piece of puzzle had slid into place.

The branch drops onto the floor in a loud thump just a few steps away from them, diverting from its intended trajectory as though the law of physics doesn’t apply to Hyukjae.

Breathless and starry eyes as Donghae looks from the fallen branch that had missed crushing Hyukjae by inches and back to down at Hyukjae again, and with his shoe clutched in his hand he says brightly, “Hi.”

“Hi,” Hyukjae answers back, smiling a beat too soft.

What a terrific luck Hyukjae has.

What a terrible luck Donghae has.

Ah, maybe it’s fate after all.

---

One.

“Can we get a towel to clean this up?” asks Junsu as a waitress about to pass them by.

She pulls to a stop, eyes wide in shock. “Yes, of course,” the waitress says, staring helplessly at the wet mess on their table. She hurries back into the kitchen, leaving the plates of food dripping with tea on the table.

“Sorry, sorry,” says Donghae, face looking absolutely crushed. He seems to curl into himself, appearing slightly smaller and grey around the edges, much unlike the bright Donghae that was there with them before the start of the night.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Hyukjae says, bumping Donghae’s shoulder. “We can just placed new order.”

“I’ll pay for it,” he insists over their ruined dinner.

“It’s fine, it’s only just dishes three dishes. We’re lucky that they haven’t brought out the remaining five,” Yunho says, offering up a comforting smile despite it being his tea that Donghae had knocked over, spilling all over their table and food.

Donghae winces at that. “Sorry,” he says again.

“Stop apologizing,” Hyukjae says, rolling his eyes. “You’re going to make everyone feel bad.”

Donghae laughs, a little stiff and awkward but it’s there. “Alright.”

There were no more further accident that night and because it’s Hyukjae when the restaurant held their 20th year anniversary’s lottery, their table to no one shock, won an all expanse pay meal and Donghae had seemed to a little brighter then.

After they all go their separate way and Junsu is currently driving Jessica home, he tries not to think too much about how Donghae and Hyukjae were glued to each other side throughout the entire night, their shoulders pressed up against the other till there’s no space left for anything or anyone else to get in between.

Two.

They make it to Donghae’s soccer match just ten minutes into half-time and spots Donghae standing with his teammates in a circle.

Junsu calls Donghae over to them as soon as the team breaks off from the meeting. “What happened to you?” he demands, jaw dropping at the sight of Donghae drawing closer with redden cheeks that shows a slight imprint of something hard hitting his face, the scrapped knees that is now all bandaged up, and his grass stained uniform that make him looks like he had been into a battle and came out of it worse for wear.

“Um, somebody kicked the ball in my face,” he says sheepishly, “and I tripped over someone.”

Hyukjae puffs out of annoyed air. “You should have told me you have a game so I been here sooner and this wouldn’t happen,” he snaps, crossing his arms.

Donghae flinches back. “I didn’t want to bother you on your day off,” he says.

“It’s alright,” Junsu cuts in before Hyukjae completely loses it, “this guy got nothing better to do anyway.”

Hyukjae shoots him a heated glare before stepping forward into Donghae’s space. “Next time just tell me, okay? If I can’t make it then I’ll let you know,” he says, cupping Donghae’s face and bumps their head together. “So go kick some .”

Donghae steps back, flashing Hyukjae a grin and looking much better than before. “I will,” he promises and dashes of to rejoin his teammates after giving them a cheery wave.

“Are we going to speak about that?” Junsu asks, trying for casual but failing at it as they make their way toward the stand to watch the game

Hyukjae turns to him, eyes sharp and shoulders stiffen. “No,” he bites out.

“Okay then,” Junsu says, shrugging. He knows when not to push.

They venture up the Home stand, taking the farthest seat they can find, the one that is less crowded and less likely to have people bumping up against Hyukjae as they watch Donghae takes the field.

Later, their school didn’t win but Donghae scored a goal and an assist that night. They celebrated like it was a win anyway.

Three.

Junsu finds them by an empty booth on the edge of the festival where there’s barely any body around, locked in a heated exchange.

“I can’t believe you,” Hyukjae yells and Junsu is immediately taken back by the raised voice coming from Hyukjae which he’d rarely heard since the time they have known each other.

He decides it’s best not to interfere, tucking himself behind a stall where he can poke his head out just enough to see what’s going on and if the two of them wasn’t so focused on each other they might of notice him there.

“You were the one who invited me out yet you ignored me the entire night!” Hyukjae continues, b with barely contained anger.

“I wasn’t ignoring you,” Donghae retorts, face flushed with an angry red.

“Then why have you been avoiding so much so that ended up losing your shoes twice now and someone even tried to make way with your wallet,” Hyukjae hisses, hands balling into a fist at his side.

“I–” Donghae looks away as he fumbles to find for words to say.

“Why won’t you just take my hand already when I offered?!” Hyukjae demand, torn between fury and defeat.

“No,” he says firm and resolute as he finally looks back at Hyukjae, shaking his head. “I can’t rely to you all the time. I don’t want make it seem like I’m using you,” he pauses, biting bites his lower lip as his eyes soften before continuing. “I been doing fine on my own for years now so I can go without touching you for a single night and I’m okay so you don–”

“Shut up,” Hyukjae snaps suddenly jolting Donghae up and stopping him mid-sentence.

“Ugh,” he groans, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “I can’t believe I have to tell you this so I’m only going to say this once so pay attention, alright? If I didn’t like you pawing at me I would have said so, you would have heard the message loud and clear so yea I’m offering here. Take it already.”

Hyukjae holds his hand out again and Donghae stares helplessly at Hyukjae for a moment before looking down at the hand and he lets out a resigned sigh but there’s a smile on his face as he takes it.

“I’m sorry for being stupid,” he says quietly.

“You better be,” Hyukjae responds but it sounds fond and sweet anyway.

There’s a bit of shuffling but Junsu quickly turns away before he could see anything and makes his way back to their group. Something are just too private for outsiders to see.

When Donghae and Hyukjae rejoins the group, they held hand throughout the rest of the festival despite curious glance sent their way from strangers, classmates, and friends alike, but they don’t seem to care too much about it.

Four.

“Hyung, hyung, let’s go!” Henry says excitedly, tugging Donghae toward the cave entrance of the hulking Viking thrill ride.

“Um,” Donghae says, dragging his feet around as though they were made of lead. “I don’t know about this Henry.”

“It’ll be fine,” Hyukjae says, sliding into the space next to Donghae. He holds his hand out to Donghae and smiles encouragingly. “I’m here with you.”

Donghae looks down at the hand offer to him, he seems to ponder over it quite bit before taking it and returns a hesitating smile of his own. “Alright,” he says, eyes steel and resolved set in the line of his shoulders.

“We’re going then!” Henry declares, taking off further into the ride’s waiting platform with Donghae and Hyukjae following hastily behind him.

“Have fun!” Jessica says as she waves them off.

They disappear into the tunnel until Junsu, who had wisely declined the ride, and Jessica, who had been on that ride one too many times already, are the only one left of their party.

“Is Hyukjae going to be alright?” Jessica asks after a moment, furrowing her brows as she craning her neck up and up to catch all of the height of the Viking first loop peeking through the mountaineous cavern of the ride’s entrance. “I thought he wasn’t a fan of thrill rides.”

Junsu raise up a water bottle and a paper bag he have in one hand. “Why you think I got these for?”

“Oh,” she says as her eyes widen in realization, “that idiot.”

“Well at least two out of three is going to have fun,” Junsu comments idly and then he pauses. “Donghae likes this sort of ride right? I thought he did but… ” he trails off, thinking of the frightened expression written clearly on Donghae’s face the moment Henry had brought up the Viking at all when they first got to the amusement park.  

Jessica rolls her eyes. “He loves them.”

“Then what was that hesitation for?” He frowns.

Jessica sighs, tired and sounding much older then she is. “Last time we went on a roller coaster, there was a malfunction with the system and we were stuck for three hours. The entire time we played the longest game of word association ever,” she says, scrunching up her face. “We got compensated by the park so it wasn’t a big deal but ever since then Donghae has been wary about getting on these thrill rides because he doesn’t want to ya know—” she steps closer to him and her voice drops to a pointed whisper, “cause an accident.”

“Ah,” Junsu says, finally coming to an understanding. “Well, the other idiot is with him and even though he’s going to be sick and hates every moment of it, Donghae doesn’t have to worry about any… uh issue that may rise up.”

“What a pair,” Jessica says, turning back to the ride as a chorus of scream from thrill seekers pass them by and Junsu murmurs his agreement.

Five.

Donghae comes roaring into the cafe half past noon on a Tuesday, like the Devil is on his heels. “Hyukjae?” he asks, eyes scanning across the cafe. “Lee Hyukjae?”

Hyukjae immediately pushes himself out of his seat. “Come here,” he says, opening his arms.

Donghae rushes into Hyukjae’s embrace and Hyukaje wraps himself around Donghae like he’s swallowing Donghae up. “Good luck on your test,” Hyukjae murmurs into Donghae’s hair.

“Thank you,” he says as he melts into Hyukjae.

“Um, what was that?” Hyoyeon demands, swiveling her head back toward Junsu as Donghae and Hyukjae hugs it out in front of the crowd of customers at the café, without even caring who is witnessing it.

“Oh, it’s you know just Donghae and Hyukjae being Donghae and Hyukjae,” he says, as though that explain everything and in a way it does.

“Do they do this often?” she asks, brows furrowing curiously.

“Way too often but you get used to it,” Junsu says consolingly.

Hyoyeon just look perturbed by the aspect of it.

It doesn’t make sense, Lady Luck’s blessed child and Misfortune’s favor son—they’re star-crossed lovers alright standing on the opposite end and yet helplessly drawn to one another like a pair of binary stars trapped in each other’s orbit. It’s the saddest and the most romantic tale in the world, Junsu thinks wistfully.

a/n: im v v v busy with school and work bc HOLS and FINALS so im sorry for not getting around to all your beautiful comments but know that Im grateful for them all and I really really truly appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to show your love!! thank you!!!!!!!!! ANYWAY, this has been in the back of my fic burner for the longest TIME and im glad i finally dusted it off and finished it. it's an idea that i have been playing with esp the constrasts of someone WHO HAS ALL THE LUCK but seems so unhappy about it compare to someone who misfortune visit so often that it can be a crippling thing yet he's so happy?? easy goign?? has a lot of friends?? like in my head it's supposed to highlight that someone who is this lucky can be used and taken advantage of so hyukjae grows distance and kind afraid/hate social interaction bc you never know who is UR TRUE FRIEND and how is using you while donghae knows that the ppl that stay by him through all his bad fortunate are ALL HIS TRUE FRIENDS and that when you have a perpetual rainy days the one day the sun come out you're so goddamn happy so yea that's how i see it. ANYWAY point is they are opposite but are drawn to each other in ways they can't explain and hyukjae as the one who approached donghae first is SUPER IMPORTANT!!!! in terms of how hyukjae approach their relationship and sees it bc as someone such a horrid deposition like donghae it is v v v easy how ppl see that donghae would use hyukjae's friendship to make his life easier so YEA \o/.