For: mayazero

Title: Like a Manga

Pairing: Dongwoo/Hoya

For what seemed like the millionth time, Hoya pushed his backpack strap back onto his shoulder; the heavy apparatus seemed to think that its rightful place was hanging from his elbow instead of where it should be, and Hoya was beginning to feel the burn in his arm from the multitude of times the bag had dropped onto it. He had taken to wearing it on only the one shoulder since his classes were only fifteen minutes apart and it was an inconvenience to have to take it off of both arms to take his seat, but he was probably going to have to start wearing it properly soon or his entire semester was going to be filled with pain in his arm. 

It was only the first week of school, and his first time in this particular classroom, and as he glanced around for a seat he realized he needed to start coming earlier. This class was packed to the brim, every seat full and a few students standing along the walls. The professor looked a bit flustered at the number of students but she kept her cool and motioned for Hoya to take a spot along the wall. “If anyone starts to get tired, you can feel free to sit on the floor; I won’t be upset,” she said as she stepped to her desk at the front of the room, and Hoya inwardly cringed at the thought of sitting on a floor where who knew how many people had walked in the last few hours. Taking a space along the wall, he set his backpack down on the floor in front of him and dug through it to pull out a notebook and pencil. He left the textbook where it was, though; it was too heavy to stand there holding it open in front of him. 

Class began with the typical introduction of the professor and of her class syllabus, going over the guidelines and all the boring stuff he could read in the sheets of paper she passed out. She also said that by the next few weeks either a lot of people would drop out or they would move to a bigger room; she would see which would happen first. From the bored looks and glances toward the door Hoya figured that the former would happen sooner, and he gave a mournful look at the lucky students in the desks. Soon one of those would be his.

The person in the desk in front of him was casually doodling on his notebook, complicated designs and little animated faces blooming to life on the pages. Hoya found his attention pulled away from the professor’s intro to the long slender fingers that gripped the pen, watching as through deft the paper became something else entirely. When the class ended and the notebook closed, Hoya realized he had been staring at the drawings for the entire 75 minute class. His eyes flickered to the face of the artist and his breath caught in his throat as he took in the handsome features of the boy calmly packing his things away into a book bag. A small, pert nose and smiling brown eyes, full pink lips and rich brown hair that begged to be touched… as the boy glanced up toward the clock on the wall Hoya automatically followed his line of sight and gasped.

He’d been staring at the boy for 5 minutes… and his next class was in ten minutes and across campus.

“Aw, crap,” he groaned and stuffed his notebook into his backpack unceremoniously, zipping it closed and throwing it over a shoulder as he rushed out of the class. He spent the rest of the day thinking about the artist with the long fingers, though, barely focused on his classes.

Over the next few weeks his thoughts kept returning to that boy, and he had to admit to himself that it was turning into a silent crush. He had to stand along the wall at that class, still waiting for the number of students to drop low enough for him to get a seat. He watched as the number of students dwindled every week and he knew it wouldn’t be long… if only he could get there earlier to get a seat before anyone else. Oddly enough, though, he was content to stand along the wall near the artist’s desk and watch as the boy sketched out life, playing out things of his imagination onto the pages in front of him and mingling with his notes. Sometimes he would draw little caricatures of the professor and the other students, and the first time Hoya recognized one of the girls who sat at the front of the class and asked incessant question after question, he had to choke back a laugh and turn it into a quiet cough. The boy had chuckled a little in return, though he and Hoya had never spoken, and then his slender fingers sketched out…

Himself. Sitting at his desk, with a speech bubble beside him. “Hi, I’m Dongwoo,” it said, and then he added below, “And you are?” 

Hoya got over his shock before he wrote his name on the top of a fresh page in his notebook and tipped it for the other to see. Dongwoo’s perfect lips curved into a small smile and he wrote, “Nice to meet you, Hoya. Maybe if you ever get here early enough to sit we can chat a little… you always rush off after class.”

Dongwoo had noticed him? Hoya’s mouth went dry and he considered what to write; thank god he wasn’t speaking because he would be stuttering right now. “I have a class right before this one and one right after… I can’t get here any sooner and I can’t stay any later.” He felt a bit sad at his answer as he showed it to Dongwoo; he would very much like to get to know the boy who captivated his interest and kept Hoya awake at night with thoughts of his drawings and fingers.

The artist nodded slowly as he read Hoya’s explanation, lips pursing beautifully while Hoya’s heart sank. What were the chances such a perfect guy would like him like that? He probably wasn’t even gay. Dongwoo sketched out a quick little drawing of a table and sandwiches, then wrote “Lunch at the cafeteria?” Hoya wanted to smack himself for stuffing his schedule so full as he replied that he had classes from 7:30AM to 5PM daily, and Dongwoo’s shoulders suddenly shook as he held in a silent laugh. 

“Workaholic? Or just brushing me off?” His note read, and as Hoya frantically began to write that he definitely wasn’t blowing Dongwoo off, the Professor announced that class was over and went over the homework required for Monday’s class. Hoya gave a sigh as he realized that he needed to leave to catch his next class, and this time Dongwoo laughed a bright laugh out loud and waved Hoya off. 

“Catch your next class, spy,” he said, voice surprisingly deep as his eyes twinkled up at Hoya. With a sigh and a nod Hoya obeyed and left.

The following Monday Hoya walked into class to see that there were only three students standing along the walls, and all three were glaring in the direction of Dongwoo. The little artist sat ignoring them happily, sitting at his usual desk with his legs stretched across to rest on the seat of another. As soon as he saw Hoya, a big smile bloomed on his face and he motioned him over to take the seat. He could feel the daggers of the other three students in his back as he did so and cringed a little, much to Dongwoo’s amusement. “Ignore them, they’re just jealous you made a friend,” the artist said with a laugh, and Hoya soon forgot his awkwardness as Dongwoo drew him into their little world of notes and art.

The next few weeks passed similarly and Hoya grew used to sitting beside Dongwoo and watching the other boy take his notes and draw his figurines before having to rush off to his next class. They never spent any time together out of class, but he learned through their notes that Dongwoo was a junior and a creative writing major. He loved to sing karaoke and was terribly addicted to coffee, and one Friday as Hoya packed away his bag Dongwoo’s slim fingers reached out and dropped a folded piece of paper into the space between Hoya’s notebooks and textbooks. At Hoya’s questioning gaze he simply gave him a dazzling smile and pointed toward the clock with one long slim digit, and so the tall boy gave a sigh, zipped up his bag, and waved goodbye to Dongwoo.

He couldn’t wait for classes to be over to see what Dongwoo had given him, so as he took out his books for his next class he pulled out the folded paper and glanced around before opening it. For some reason he felt ridiculously nervous; it was probably just a drawing and so he took a deep breath and opened it.

He was right… it was a drawing but not one Hoya had expected. It was of an animated Dongwoo standing in front of a ridiculously handsome cartoon Hoya, the other boy’s speech bubble saying, “Here’s my number… we ought to hang out sometime that you aren’t rushing from place to place.” A nine digit number followed, and with a smile Hoya added it into his phone before tucking both the note and phone away in his pocket and pretending to pay attention to class.

He met up with Woohyun for a dinner at a convenience store around 6PM… it was their typical routine to buy the little cups of ramen and sit and study there. Woohyun was a literature student with a sharp tongue and sharper mind, and Hoya figured he could ask him for advice without being made fun of. Too much, anyway.

“Hey… I need some advice,” he started out, and Woohyun gave him a critical look. 

“No, your shirt doesn’t do you any justice,” he said, and Hoya rolled his eyes in response. 

“Jerk. Seriously… I need to know your opinion on something.”

Woohyun looked as if he were about to say something else that he would surely find terribly funny, but it must have been the apprehension on Hoya’s face that stilled his tongue. “What’s up?” he finally asked, setting his pencil down and propping his face in his hands. Hoya reached into his pocket and took out the note, hesitating a moment as he looked at the folded paper. 

“I… you remember the pretty artist I told you about? In my Sociology class?” 

“Mmmmm.”

“Well… as you know… we’ve kinda sorta been talking through our notes… and today he dropped this,” he handed the paper to his friend’s waiting grasp, “In my bag. Should I?”

Woohyun read it quickly, laughing a little at the cuteness of the drawing before handing it back to Hoya. “Why not? You like him, you guys get along, just go hang out! Be HUMAN for once, Hoya,” he said teasingly, and Hoya flushed red. 

“I am human,” he mumbled as he carefully folded the note and slipped it back into his pocket. “But what if we don’t get along outside of notes?” he said, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. 

Woohyun rolled his eyes and picked up his pencil again to get back to his homework. “Oh, please,” he said sarcastically. “He likes you. Just give it a try.”

Hoya had a million protests swirling through his mind, but he pulled out his phone and typed out a text to Dongwoo.

“Hi, this is Hoya from Sociology…”

And then he proceeded to chew on the end of his pencil for the next fifteen minutes as he stared at his phone in worry. Was Dongwoo playing with him? Was that a fake number? Was it…

His phone buzzed on the table and Hoya practically lunged for it, drawing a chuckle from his evil best friend. The reply made his breath catch and his heart quicken as he thought of the many ways it could be meant.

“Hi Hoya. Are you free tomorrow night?”

The following night Hoya found himself standing in front of the student theatre, hands stuffed in his pockets as the cold fall wind blew and tried to send him inside. He walked small circles to keep warm, and as he rounded his thousandth circle he came face to face with a smiling Dongwoo.

The other boy led him off campus, beginning to chat about little things here and there but avoiding speaking anything about school. As they wandered onto the nearby shopping district that was fondly nicknamed College Town, Dongwoo kept up a steady chatter about music and clothing before he pointed out a small café nearby. “Care for some pie?” he asked, stopping to blink at Hoya cutely before setting off to cross the street and drag Hoya behind him before he could answer. As they doffed their coats and took seats in the cozy little diner, Hoya looked up to see Dongwoo openly staring at him.

“Do I… have something on my face?” he asked weakly, and Dongwoo loosed a loud, rich laugh. 

“No no… you’re just…” he tipped his head to one side and roamed his eyes over Hoya’s face, making the other boy blush at the open scrutiny. “Striking.”

Hoya awkwardly changed the conversation to their newest homework, and Dongwoo let out a small chuckle before accepting the topic change and jumping fully in. They shared a slice of pumpkin pie, Hoya with a hot tea and Dongwoo with his coffee. Their conversation flowed so easily that the time passed quickly and before they knew it, it was midnight and the diner was closing. Dongwoo caught Hoya’s wrist before he could pull out any money, giving him a slight bossy glare as he handed the waitress a credit card. Protests died on Hoya’s lips as Dongwoo turned a secretive smile on him, and as they left the diner he felt the other boy slip his hand into Hoya’s. Dongwoo pulled him to the side of the café and turned them until Hoya’s back was to the outer wall and Dongwoo’s to the street.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Dongwoo murmured, and before Hoya could wonder what he was talking about the artist leaned in to put his hands on Hoya’s shoulders and give him a soft kiss. Hoya’s brain finally clued him in to what was happening and he wrapped and arm around Dongwoo’s waist and the other hand to cup the other’s chin and draw him closer, and Dongwoo let out a hum of approval as he let himself curve to fit Hoya’s body. The kiss grew heated and when finally the artist broke it off, he had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“You’re like a manga character,” he said quietly. “Perfect and handsome and striking… and so cutely shy.”

And before Hoya could protest that he wasn’t cute or perfect, Dongwoo pressed a finger to his lips and followed it with another kiss.

THE END