ii.




Jongin wakes up to the sound of his ringtone blaring into his ears. He groans and turns around, flipping the pillow over his head and ignoring the call. He knew who was calling, anyway. Who else would call him at 8am on a Saturday morning?

Ignoring the call proved to be impossible, however, and he answers it eventually. "Hello?"

"Why didn't you answer the first time?"

Typical, Jongin thinks. He's just about to make up an explanation when she interrupts him. "Drive over here to Apgujeong, right now."

"No." Jongin replies flatly.

"Why not?"

"I'm in a relationship now. I'm not going to meet you alone."

"What's the point?" She laughs, her familiar voice floating across the line. "Your relationships are all "trial relationships" anyway. You'll just break up with the person in a week again, and you'll return to me. You'll always return to me."

Jongin barks out a short laugh and sits up, stretching lazily. "I'm going to hang up now."

"What kind of person is it?" She interrupts quickly. Jongin sighs and glances at the clock. He should really just hang up and go to bed.

"He's in the same school with me, but he's a year older."

"Is he cute?"


That question catches Jongin off guard. He hadn't thought of that. Is Luhan cute? 

He envisions Luhan gracefully holding a bow and aiming for the target- his movements as fluid and smooth as silk. He envisions Luhan gazing off into the distance, his sights locked on the red bullseye, face set in deep concentration. Whenever Luhan aimed for a target with an expression like that, Jongin finds himself getting mesmerised and he has to mentally shake himself to get a hold of his own bearings.

"He's more like beautiful, really." He replies simply. His mind flashes back to the time when Luhan had managed to hit the bullseye of a particularly hard target and he had stood there in disbelief for nearly one minute, his chest heaving and his eyes wild.

"More beautiful than I am?" The girl teases but there was no bite in her tone.

Jongin snaps back from his reverie. "Huh?"

She laughs. "Forget it, Jongin. I'll see you soon."

"Why don't you just get back together with my brother already?" He whines.

"I hate it when you say stuff like that. Bye!"



Jongin sighs and hangs up. He turns to his side and glares at the ceiling. He was still slightly annoyed from being woken up all of a sudden. He tries to go back to sleep, but his mind felt strangely alert all of a sudden, and his thoughts naturally drift back to the one thing that had held his thoughts captive for the past 12 hours. Luhan.

Naturally.

It had surprised him to find out that Luhan didn't have a girlfriend at first, even though he was so popular with the student body. Jongin had always been aware of Luhan, but he had never gave it much thought, or at least until Luhan asked him out and now, Jongin wouldn't be able to stop thinking about him even if he tried.

Maybe I'll fall in love this time, Jongin muses. It was a very feeble hope, but it was still there, just like how it always is in the beginning of all his "one week" relationships. He has no idea what will happen, but he can't help but feel somewhat hopeful at the beginning of each week. But he never ends up feeling anything for the other person, so they would split up and he would repeat this, over and over again.

It was an endless cycle.

Seven days would be enough.


Before he drifts off to sleep, Jongin sends a "good morning" text to Luhan and he nearly gets his head bitten off five minutes later for waking him up this early on a Saturday morning. Jongin stares at Luhan's annoyed text message in disbelief and he blinks slightly, still not used to this. "Well... that was unfortunate."


To be honest, Jongin thinks that an irritated Luhan is actually kind of cute.

He smiles to himself and just then, his phone rings again. "Hello?"

"Are you an idiot? Hey, you're not an idiot right?"

Jongin chuckles and lies back in bed. "Yes, I'm an idiot. Sorry."

"Don't laugh when you're apologising!" Luhan's annoyed voice rang in his ears. He still sounded a bit sleepy- his voice had that breathy quality to it. "You woke me up at this ungodly hour and now I can't get back to sleep. What now? You have to make it up to me."

Jongin nods thoughtfully. "Okay. What do you think I should do?"

"I just want to punch you in the face."

"Oh? How about I go over there so you can punch me right now?"

Luhan is oddly silent for a moment and Jongin starts to wonder whether he had overstepped it a little. He's just about to say something when Luhan interrupts- his tone adorably resigned, as if he knew that he wouldn't be getting any sleep anymore. "Make sure you come to practice on Monday, okay?"

"Archery club practice? Why?"

"Well, let me ask you a question. Which club do you belong to?" Luhan's tone is dry.

"The archery club....?"

"Don't answer me with a question!" Luhan snaps and Jongin resists the urge to chuckle. A ruffled Luhan is an adorable Luhan. 

"You better not skip, okay. I'm going to make sure you show up on Monday. This is what happens when you wake me up for no reason. See you!" Luhan singsongs before hanging up, leaving a still-befuddled Jongin to stare at his phone. 
















Two days later, a disgruntled Jongin finds himself at club practice after school, as per the wishes of Luhan. It's worth it though, when he sees Luhan step up to the podium a few minutes later, skilfully grabbing his bow with a practiced ease.

Jongin watches in almost a daze, as Luhan perfects his stance and aims for the target. 

He shoots, he scores.

"Yes!" Luhan lets out a squeal of delight as everyone happily applauds for their star archer. Even Jongin, who was unwilling to come for practice at first, finds himself applauding along with enthusiasm. He was grinning so wide that his jaw hurt.

"Well, it seems that your skills are as sharp as ever." Their instructor remarks as he walks over and gives Luhan a pat on the shoulder.

"If you hadn't made such a crude unrefined outburst at the end there, it would have been perfect."

Luhan stiffens in shock and Jongin winces. To his credit, Luhan didn't protest though. He just nodded quietly and walked to the side. He catches Jongin's eye on the way and Jongin gives him a hesitant smile. Luhan smiles back.

"First years, take your places!" The instructor snapped.

It was his turn. Jongin stepped out to the podium, along with the rest of the first year students and he grabs his bow from the bench. He feels the weight of Luhan's gaze on him, and Jongin stiffens slightly as he squares his shoulders and assumes his stance. He furrows his brow in concentration and aims for his target, his movements smooth yet unwavering.

His arrow soars silently across the room and lands right in the middle of the target. Bullseye.

Everyone applauds and Jongin looks across the room to see Luhan beaming at him. He catches Jongin's eye and gives him an enthusiastic thumbs-up and Jongin freezes. He looks down, flushing slightly.

He had always thought that Luhan looked the most beautiful when he's drawing his bow, but when he sees Luhan walking over to him, still smiling at him with those warm bright brown eyes, he realizes that he was wrong, or at least, he was until now.












When practice ends, they decide to take the train home together.

"You were still late to practice, I guess." Luhan admits as the doors of the subway train slid shut and the train moves on with a sharp jerk. "But you were really good."

They stay in silence for a little while longer, before Luhan speaks up. "Isn't your house at this stop?" By then, they had already stopped at Anyang and some people were beginning to file out of the train. 

Jongin nods. "Yeah."

Luhan frowns in confusion. "So? Why are you still here?"

"I'll follow hyung to Pyeongchon."

"Why?"

"So I can be with you a little while longer."

Luhan stills in shock and turns to look at him. Jongin shifts uneasily from Luhan's gaze. The doors of the train seal shut again and the train resumes, rattling on. 

"Let me ask you something," Luhan hesitates. He's not sure how to say it out loud. "Are we supposed to be dating right now?" He glances at Jongin, who had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Of course." Jongin replies simply. 

"I see." Luhan says quietly, as if in deep thought. He looks away and Jongin starts to feel extremely uneasy again. What is Luhan thinking about? He immediately looks away, flustered, when Luhan catches his gaze. The latter gives an amused chuckle and Jongin feels his cheeks burn a bright red.

"I guess I'll do my best to enjoy it then." Luhan smiles. He looks up at the screen on the train. "Oh! Jongin-ah, we're approaching Pyeongchon already." He quickly stands up and exits the train, leaving a confused Jongin behind, who immediately stands up too and follows Luhan out.

They walk in silence, side by side, through the busy subway station. "Uh, Luhan?" Jongin tries and Luhan turns around to glance at him. "We're not at Pyeongchon yet. Technically we're still at Beomgye. Pyeongchon is the next-"

"Let's go on a date, Jongin." Luhan interrups, his eyes bright. Jongin freezes and stares at him. 

"What?"

"It's already Tuesday, the second day of the week. I need to use my time wisely." Luhan replies as he pulls Jongin out of the subway station. Something he said pricks at Jongin and he feels oddly disappointed at Luhan's misunderstanding. "It's not like that."

"What do you mean? One week's the limit, right? But isn't a date a standard part of your itinerary?"

Itinerary?

"There is no standard itinerary," Jongin replies shortly, turning away. This isn't the same as his previous relationships anyway.

"Good." Luhan tugs him down the street. "Let's go. I'm starving."

This isn't some game, you know. Jongin wants to tell Luhan. I'm not playing some kind of game. He feels that if he doesn't explain himself to Luhan, that if he allows this misunderstanding to continue further, he would have to split up with Luhan by the end of the week, even if he does end up falling for him. He feels so bothered and heated up that he doesn't realize when they reach a Korean noodle stall and Luhan drags him inside.

"You don't like noodles, do you?" Luhan asks fifteen minutes later, when their food has been served. Jongin looks up and blinks at him confusedly. "Huh?"

"Nothing." Luhan sighs and pushes his chopsticks aside. "You've just been really quiet." He eyes Jongin quietly, his expression unreadable. "I hate that, okay? I hate that you're actually unhappy about something but you just keep quiet and you go along with what I want."

Jongin realises what Luhan must have been thinking and he widens his eyes in horror. "No! I wasn't thinking that!" He meets Luhan's steady gaze. "I guess I'm just a bit troubled. I don't know why. I just feel a bit confused."

"Hmm," Luhan muses. "If you don't feel like it, then how about we forget it for today? We'll just pay for the food and go home. I won't mind."

"You don't like it when people just go along with you, do you?" Jongin observes dryly.

"Exactly!" Luhan exclaims indignantly, slapping his chopsticks comically on the table. "I hate it because..." He hesitates and side-eyes Jongin, flushing slightly. "If we both aren't enjoying ourselves, then what's the point?"

Jongin nods and pushes his bowl aside. "I want to go shoe shopping."

Luhan grins at him and nods. "Okay."















Half an hour later, Jongin comes to a sudden realisation when he sees Luhan leaps around from store to store, chatting avidly about different types of shoes and of their colours and sizes. He realizes, with a sharp surprise, that he barely knows anything about Luhan at all. Judging from the quiet stoicism he possesses when he pulls his bow, Jongin would never have guessed that Luhan could be so bubbly and interesting in real life.

But that wasn't the strange thing about all this.


"Should I get the Mercurials in a different colour?" Luhan asks excitedly, as he pulls at Jongin's sleeve, showing him another pair of bright red shoes. Jongin shakes his head and passes him another pair of yellow ones. Luhan tilts his head to the side as he eyes them contemplatively, and Jongin tries not to think about how cute he looked.

No, what's strange is that Jongin's finding it harder and harder to look away from him.




They went to the theater to watch a movie afterwards. Jongin didn't feel much for it, for the plot was terribly boring and the acting was subpar, and he was just about to turn around and ask Luhan if he wanted to leave when he feels a sudden thud on his shoulder.

Jongin's skin tingles with a sudden rush of warmth and he tries not to shudder. He turns slightly to his right and he sees Luhan sleeping against his shoulder, his drink tilting precariously in his hand. "Uh oh," Jongin mumbles as he quickly grabs the cup in Luhan's hand and steadies it. He gently pulls it out of Luhan's grip and places it in the cup holder.

Throughout the entire thing, Luhan had not stirred once. He was already fast asleep, his chest rising and relaxing in a steady rhythm. Luhan's soft brown hair tickles Jongin's ear and he has to blink once, twice, to make sure that he wasn't asleep himself too. He watches Luhan for a few more minutes, before drowsiness seizes control of him and he allows himself to drift off to sleep too- his head resting against Luhan's own. Jongin finally falls asleep a few minutes later, with Luhan curled up beside him. His warmth still lingers on Jongin's skin.




The pictures on the silver screen kept changing but by then, both of them had long since forgotten what the movie was about.

Jongin never liked that movie anyway.