It doesn’t take Woohyun long to figure out that’s something’s a little… off with Sunggyu during dinner. After all, he’s always been pretty good at reading people, and as Sunggyu’s best friend, he has had years to learn every little nuance in Sunggyu’s many expressions. Sometimes he even jokes that he can read what Sunggyu is thinking from just his eyes alone, and while it’s somewhat exaggerated, Woohyun is usually able to gather a pretty good idea of what Sunggyu’s thinking from looking into his eyes. Sunggyu’s eyes are narrow and kind of small, and Woohyun knows Sunggyu doesn’t think they’re his best features. But whatever shape and size they are, Sunggyu’s eyes hold such distinct emotions and thoughts in them that Woohyun doesn’t really notice their physical appearance as much as the thread of emotion it invokes in him.

Right now though, right now, he’s not too sure what exactly Sunggyu’s thinking, because for one, Sunggyu has been avoiding his gaze by keeping his head down, presumably focused on eating but barely passing any food from his chopsticks to his lips. What little Woohyun has managed to catch leaves him puzzled, because he can’t figure out anything beyond the fact that Sunggyu’s thinking hard about something. The expression he wears isn’t one that Woohyun is familiar with, not the little pinch between his eyes and scrunch of his nose when he gets slightly annoyed (which happens pretty often, earning Sunggyu a reputation of being grumpy), or the relaxed but still kind of stern expression he has when he’s not really thinking about anything. Propping an elbow onto the table so he can rest his cheek on it while he stares at Sunggyu, Woohyun focuses on trying to figure the new look out, not thinking he might be bordering on creepy with his staring since it’s something Sunggyu has seen many times before anyway, until Sunggyu clears his throat.

“Why are you looking at me like I’m a specimen under a microscope?”

Woohyun feels his lips quirk at the comment, but replies simply, “I’m not looking at you.”

“Uh-huh. Is this one of those, I’m thinking about something and I just happen to be staring in your direction thing again?”

Instead of answering, Woohyun decides to say, “I managed to run to the lecture just in time after grabbing my printed assignment after lunch.” He doesn’t mean anything by the statement, uttering it because it’s the first thing that comes to mind, but Woohyun sees Sunggyu blink a little too fast, and that’s his first clue. In the same tone, Woohyun continues, as if he hadn’t paused a little too long while taking in Sunggyu’s reaction, “Did anything happen after I abruptly went off during lunch?”

There’s a visible rising of Sunggyu’s chest when he inhales too deeply, before he says, “No. Unless you count me being awkward while alone with Dongwoo, but that’s…” The words trail off as Sunggyu shrugs and Woohyun thinks he means to say normal for me, because Sunggyu always thinks he’s awkward even though he’s the one who always somehow manages to command attention in a room without trying. Woohyun, on the other hand, is probably the actually awkward person even though he doesn’t seem like it, but that is only because he knows he’s awkward by nature and compensates for it by putting in double the effort to get people to like him.

After a while of Woohyun resuming eating because he’s not sure what to say, Sunggyu suddenly asks, “This might be a bad time to ask, so you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to. But what did you like about Dongwoo?”

“Did?”

Sunggyu absently rubs the back of his neck. “Or ‘do’, whichever. I said ‘did’ only because you broke up with him, but you are still friends so maybe you still like him.”

Woohyun frowns a little, more from trying to figure out where this is going rather than from annoyance or anger, but he quickly smooths his face out so Sunggyu won’t think he’s upset by the question. It’s barely two weeks since he broke up with Dongwoo, sure, but for some reason, he doesn’t feel nearly as burdened or upset by this breakup as he did for most of his previous ones. (Or at least not now, because Woohyun momentarily recalls how much he had cried the first few days after it happened.) It might be because Dongwoo managed to transit from boyfriend to friend as easily as a chameleon changes colour because of his easygoing personality, but it could also be because he and Dongwoo were always a bit more like friends (with the added benefit of ) even when they were dating rather than really boyfriends. Sunggyu’s patiently waiting for an answer, so Woohyun says, “I guess I liked him differently as a boyfriend than as a friend, but hmm, I like Dongwoo because he’s really optimistic and cheerful. Also, there’s something fascinating about him really smart while being kind of scatterbrained and easily distracted at times.”

Nodding, Sunggyu pokes lightly at a half-eaten eggroll that has been on his rice since the start of the meal. Woohyun tries not to roll his eyes, and instead picks up some kimchi and stir-fried vegetables to place on Sunggyu’s bowl, hoping that will get him to move his chopsticks and actually eat. Woohyun’s own bowl is almost empty but Sunggyu’s one across the table is still mostly full. It’s when he’s going for the second round of piling food onto Sunggyu’s now overflowing bowl that Woohyun hears a soft “What do you like about me?”

His reflexive response comes out quick and dry: “Your small eyes.”

There’s a scoff, followed by Sunggyu speaking in a slightly louder voice, although it is still a little too soft to be heard over the din of the diner without Woohyun straining his ears. “No