It took more than a week for Hongbin to see Chansik again. He was asked to take pictures of a baseball team, a Saturday afternoon. He was expecting easy work in the studio but his plans were changed, and he was pretty tired, but he didn’t complain because he liked his job. It’s only when he arrived there that he realized the baseball team he was taking pictures of was Chansik’s brother’s team.

He recognized the boy, he remembered Junghwan pointing him out to him. He was pretty tall and he looked maybe 16 or 17.

As Hongbin was setting up his camera in the baseball field, Sanghyuk came up to him.

«Hi! You came the other day, right? Are you friends with my brother?» asked the boy with a smile. Hongbin had left before the end of the game because he needed to go to work so he didn’t get to meet Sanghyuk.

«I met him for the first time the other day. But I’m friends with Junghwan» answered Hongbin with a smile. He asked Sanghyuk to stand in front of the camera to test it.

«What did you think of my brother?» asked Sanghyuk, and Hongbin looked up from his camera.

«What do you mean?» asked Hongbin, frowning. He snapped a picture of Sanghyuk.

The other players were practicing or sitting down on the other side of the field.

«I mean, are you interested in my brother? I don’t know if you swing that way or anything but my brother keeps talking about you and you don’t even know how much I want him to be happy» said Sanghyuk, and he was starting to tear up. «He went through so much, and his hearing loss kept him from dating normally like everyone else. And I saw you looking at him during the game, the other day, and I wondered if there was a slight chance you’d like him. Because I think he likes you» continued Sanghyuk, his eyes full of tears. Hongbin put his camera down and walked up to the teenage boy. Hongbin was not good with sentimental situations, and a crying teenager boy was definitely out of his comfort zone, but for some reason his cousin’s words were stuck in his head.

«Sanghyuk, can I tell you a secret? Will you promise not to say anything?» said Hongbin, and Sanghyuk nodded.

«I swear. I won’t tell anyone» said Sanghyuk, his eyes full of interrogations.

«I’m attracted to your brother» said Hongbin, and Sanghyuk was smiling from ear to ear suddenly. «But I can’t communicate with him right now, if I was to try to get to know him. I don’t have much love experience either, so give me a couple of weeks and I’ll try to make a move, okay?» said Hongbin, and Sanghyuk nodded excitedly.

«Of course, hyung! I won’t tell a soul, I swear» said Sanghyuk, and he skipped away happily.

For some reason, Hongbin felt good. He felt as if he did the right thing. Sanghyuk looked really happy, and after Hongbin got better with sign language, he definitely wanted to try making a move on Chansik.

Stepping out of his comfort zone. Doing something he wouldn’t have done normally. That was Hongbin’s plan. 

He took pictures of the whole team and of each member separately, taking a few shots of each to be sure they would all have a good picture, and more than an hour later he was done. Sanghyuk kept smiling at him nonstop, and Hongbin realized just how much the teenager boy loved his brother.

«Hyung!» called out Sanghyuk as Hongbin was packing his stuff. Hongbin turned around, and his breath was stuck in his throat.

He didn’t remember Chansik being this handsome.

«You’re going home?» asked Hongbin to Sanghyuk. He bowed slightly to Chansik and smiled. He felt stupid and regretted the fact that he had no social skills.

But according to his older sister, the killer dimples made up for it. She said all her friends talked about were Hongbin’s dimples, so he tried being confident. He knew he was good looking.

But could his looks really make up for his awkwardness?

«Yes. Goodbye hyung!!» said Sanghyuk, and he bowed before walking away, and Hongbin swore he saw him wink too. Hongbin smiled and waved to Chansik. The handsome boy smiled too (oh how loud Hongbin’s heart thumped) and walked away. Hongbin almost wanted to stop him to ask for a picture.

Hongbin was frozen into place. If he thought the first time had hit him hard, the second time hit him even harder. He couldn’t remove the smile from his face. He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans and took a few seconds to breathe slowly. His heart was beating so fast.

He took out his phone.

To: Chan

Do you know what it feels like to be in love? Because I think I’m falling in love.

«Hyung…how do you say ‘I love you’ in sign language» asked Hongbin, looking down at his hands instead of looking at Shinwoo because it was embarrassed.

«Ah! I knew it was for a girl» said Shinwoo with a laugh. Hongbin stayed silent, deciding not to correct him.

Shinwoo showed him how to sign ‘I love you’ and Hongbin put even more efforts than he usually did just to learn that one. He knew everything he learned was important, and he knew this could’ve waited, but he just imagined himself signing this to Chansik, and he already felt his cheeks heat up.

«Such a lucky girl, an handsome boy like you» said Shinwoo with a laugh. «Making so much efforts for her. She must be special» continued Shinwoo, and Hongbin nodded.

Of course, Chansik was special.

«I haven’t talked to her yet» said Hongbin. «Actually, I’ve met her twice» he admitted, a deep blush covering his cheeks. For some reason every time Chansik was mentioned he blushed.

«So, love at first sight?» asked Shinwoo. They were sitting in the cafeteria so they could talk freely, because the librarian kept glaring at them and Hongbin was scared.

«Hyung, that doesn’t exist!» said Hongbin, shaking his head.

«Then how do you explain that you’re paying me to teach you something to communicate with someone you’ve met twice? Explain it to me» said Shinwoo.

Hongbin couldn’t explain it. He was just attracted to him. Not just because he was good looking, because he didn’t have this reaction with anyone else before and there were a lot of good looking guys on campus. (Hongbin remembered Chansik’s stepbrother. He was hot. And gay too, based on the intense make out session he was having in the library the other day with that other good-looking guy.) It wasn’t that Hongbin pitied Chansik either because he felt attracted to him the second his eyes fell on him before he even knew the boy was deaf.

To: Chan

Do you believe in love at first sight?

From: Chan

Of course. I fell in love like that.