Myungsoo likes a boy.

The problem is that when he likes something, HE LIKES IT HARD, so obsessed is the best term to call it. Myungsoo has been obsessed with a boy from his school recently, and he doesn’t know what to do with it.

When he was obsessed with kimchi jjigae he could go to the restaurant at the corner of the street and eat it daily, so much that the lady there told him to eat something else, when he liked fedoras he bought a bunch of them in different colors, when he was obsessed with plaid shirts he did the same and most of them ended up in the dumpster because his mother had thrown them away, "I bought you pretty clothes to wear them! Stop doing this! Why are all your clothes black or plaid shirts?!!!" she said, but now, what do you do when you're obsessed with a person, real-flesh person and not a 2D anime character [because in that case you'd binge watch the show and buy all the merchandise you can afford].

This was his problem, how was he going to make this perfect, handsome, gorgeous, younger boy to notice him.

.........

Myungsoo had first seen Sungjong when his brother brought him to their house one afternoon after school to make a group project, after seeing him Myungsoo kept looking for excuses to pass by the living room just to peek at the boy, he offered drinks, food, desserts, blankets, until his brother kicked him out and banned him from stepping into the living room because "you're not letting us have any progress hyung! This project is due Friday!" and of course after that day Myungsoo couldn't stop noticing the boy at school.

.........

Myungsoo was in his third year at Munhwa Highschool, his brother Moonsoo was in the second year which meant Sungjong was only one or two years younger than him, not too young, which was good.

On the following weeks, he proceeded to take photographs of Sungjong without him noticing, no, he wasn't a creep, he was just... Inspired by this gorgeous person.

He also tried to get the most information he could from his brother, with subtle questions such as "So, how was school? What did you do with Sungjong? What is your favorite subject? And Sungjong's? How was the meal today? Did Sungjong like it? What's his favorite food by the way?" when his brother finally asked him why he was so interested in his friend Myungsoo told him [trying to sound cool] "Because he's your best friend! I need to know that my baby brother is hanging out with good people!", Moonsoo looked at his brother with a serious face "hyung, my best friend is Daeyeol", "oh" Myungsoo felt his face getting hotter, damn he was blushing, but after that he didn't have to ask anymore, Moonsoo just told him everything he knew about Sungjong dropping bits of information here and there.

.........

He was done, he didn’t want to do anything more, he tried to gain Sungjong’s attention by various means during the last 2 months, and nothing worked, mainly because his friends [his and Sungjong’s] made him lost his opportunities, but that is a story for another time. And well, it didn’t help that he was shy, too shy, the only thing that he could do to make himself noticed was to stand near Sungjong, and probably try to look mysterious but it all failed, Sungjong never looked his way, he was so done with himself.

Myungsoo dropped his schoolbag on the floor and threw himself on his bed, he needed a distraction and he knew exactly what to do, no, his animation collection wasn't the answer, he needed fresh air, fresh manga paper air, so he went out to his favorite manga café.

When he arrived though he saw the person he least wanted to see [lies]. Sungjong was lying on a couch near the clerk desk, he was reading something with all his attention and didn't notice when Myungsoo sat 3 seats from him. The older boy stared at him intently for 17 minutes [what, no, he wasn't counting the time] thinking on scenarios of how he could approach the boy and talk about this newfound shared interest, and how Sungjong would find Myungsoo the most interesting person in the world, and then they would move in together, adopt a cat and a dog, and travel around the world collecting One Piece in all the languages they could find it in….. And then Sungjong got up and left. Myungsoo missed his opportunity again. He went to Sungjong’s table and looked at the Manga that the younger boy was reading, it was a Korean translation of a manga he had never seen before, and without wasting time Myungsoo started reading it. The story was about a young witch who had to fight against her evil sister, who made a giant love potion that later made it fall as rain to gain the country's love and make her their queen. They had up to volume 2 so Myungsoo didn't know if the potion worked, but that gave him a great idea.

.....

Well maybe not that great idea, it's been 2 weeks and he finally got all the ingredients. Myungsoo went to an esoteric store and bought a book called "The Magic of Love [Making of the Finest Brews]" from where he got a love potion recipe that he was following right now. He lacked just one ingredient.

The book read: “… add as many of your tears as you want to the brew, the more, the stronger the potion”. But he didn't feel like crying, how would he cry if he had a pretty happy life, he had great parents who supported him when he came out, an awesome brother that shares an interest with him and almost never fights with, a pretty cat named Byeol that doesn't scratch him. He tried looking at the sky but that just made him sneeze, he listened to that one song from the OST of Full Metal Alchemist that always makes him feel sad, he tried cutting onions and for some reason it didn’t work either "You know what, forget it, I won't do it". He turned to leave but then he hit his toe on the table leg, and some tears formed in his eyes "ah wait no don't fall! Damn" Myungsoo panicked and turned again towards the bowl with the potion but the tears didn't come out, there wasn't enough amount of water for them to fall, there was only one thing he could do. "This is what I have to do for you," he said before he kicked the table with his already injured toe.

......

The next day at school he was sitting in the cafeteria looking at the bottle in front of him, he felt really bad, he had made a potion, when he well knows that even if he managed to give it to Sungjong it wouldn't work, it was a recipe he found on a cheap book on a cheap store where they even sold Halloween costumes, how effective could it be? The brew didn’t even look like a potion, it looked like water. He was just desperate and his lack of time to conquer the boy was making him do illogical things, He was graduating in six months and after that he wouldn’t be able to see Sungjong.

He took another bite of his food when he saw his brother and other three friends [including Sungjong] came through the cafeteria door, so he hurriedly got up and limped to the exit, avoiding the crowd, and Sungjong.

In the end, he didn’t have the guts to try giving it to the boy, he didn’t even know how to make him drink it, he didn’t plan that far. It was time to go back home, the school had finished and he was free to go and laze around and try to stop thinking about those plump lips and feline eyes and smooth skin and it would be good if he stopped thinking about that, about him.

He arrived at his house late in the afternoon, he had gone to eat ice cream, to the cat café and to the book store to buy the new volume of One Piece, all to distract himself. His brother was in the living room watching an episode of an anime they were supposed to be watching together [it was the animation version of that manga Sungjong was reading the other day] so he went and put Moonsoo in a playful headlock.

“You little kid! Do you know what the definition of ‘Traitor’ is?” His brother was hitting him weakly on the arm.

“Hyung! Hyung let me go!” he said while laughing

“Traitor, adjective, is the person with whom you started to watch a series and they advance on the episodes without you!”

“I wanted to wait for you but you didn’t come home on time!” Myungsoo released his hold and sat down next to his giggling bother.

“Ah, I guess you’re right”

“Take this, you left it on the table at the cafeteria” His brother handed him THE bottle of potion, but it didn’t contain the potion, it was empty.

“Wait, what happened to the liquid?” Myungsoo asked

Moonsoo smiled “If you really want to know, Sungjong drank it”

“WHAT THE… HOW THE F… WHAT DO YOU MEAN LEE SUNGJONG DRANK MY POTI… THE STUFF” Saying that Myungsoo was freaking out was an understatement.

“Calm down hyung, I didn’t know it was that important, what was it?” Moonsoo looked amused, that little…

“Doesn’t matter, why did Sungjong drink it?”

“Well, because the bottle has a label that says ‘Sungjong, Drink me’ on it” Myungsoo was stunned, that was true, he had written that on the bottle in little letters just for the fun of it. He was doomed.

The next day Myungsoo sat at his desk in school, he was really tired because he couldn’t sleep last night. The thought of Sungjong drinking the potion was hunting him. He had avoided him since he arrived at school, he didn’t have the guts and confirm if the potion worked. Of course, his effort went to waste when he had to get out of his classroom to go to the toilet. He stumbled with Sungjong when he was turning the corner back to his class. Today of all days.

Myungsoo grabbed Sungjong by the arm before he could fall, and Sungjong smiled at him.

“Ah, Myungsoo hyung, thank you, ah, sorry,” said Sungjong, his cheeks were flushed and he looked adorable

“No, I’m sorry, I should look where I’m going…” They both stayed in silence for 5 seconds before Myungsoo talked again, because this was too uncomfortable for both, he figured “Well, ok, nice to see you Sungjongie” He made to leave but he felt a tug on his sweater, he turned and saw Sungjong retracting his hand

“Sorry, Myungsoo hyung, I actually was looking for you” Myungsoo got even more nervous, he pointed to himself, and Sungjong nodded “yes, I’ve been looking for you all day actually, you didn’t go to the cafeteria today” Myungsoo didn’t know what to say so he just nodded again, Sungjong took a deep breath and looked at Myungsoo in the eyes, his pupils were dilated, and he was blushing “Hyung, I want to ask you” ah, oh no thought Myungsoo, it is happening “Hyung would you go out with me?”

And Myungsoo Nodded.

…….

That same day they went on their first date, Myungsoo couldn’t believe it, the potion had worked. They met at the station near the cinemas, when Myungsoo saw Sungjong arrive in casual clothes he almost forgot how to breathe, he was stunning, even more than usual if that was possible, and he was carrying himself full of confidence, he looked sure, firm and limitless. Myungsoo felt himself blushing.

They went to the cinemas, Myungsoo thought watching Train to Busan would be nice, they say scary movies help skinship but they just held hands through the whole movie, except when Myungsoo screamed while covering his eyes, which was half the film. Sungjong was kind and didn’t make fun of him for crying at the finale. Sungjong said it was a very amusing movie.

After that they went to get ice cream to Sungjong’s favorite place, then they bought couple keychains, they went to walk along the Han River [and there Sungjong grabbed a frog with his bare hands, petted it, and put it in a pond that was near]. Sungjong was mature, probably more than himself, he was kind and patient, he listened to what Myungsoo said with attentions and made insightful comments, he was fun to be with, and also had an air of innocence to him, in the sense that he still believed in the good of people, The more time Myungsoo spend with the boy, he felt more guilty.

He wasn’t enjoying the date as much as when it began because every time Sungjong smiled brightly at him [the kind of smiles where even his huge eyes smiled] he felt ashamed, because Sungjong didn’t like him for real, it was all a trick, it was the potion’s fault, the potion he had made. He deceived Sungjong into dating him and Sungjong had no idea.

Myungsoo felt ashamed that he thought of Sungjong as just a pretty face and couldn't see Sungjong's worth, he know Sungjong was worth it but he didn't think much than other than his face, now that he had time to spend with him, and see how wonderful Sungjong was, he knew it, he wouldn't have a chance, he should give up now. Sungjong didn't deserve this, he deserved to fall in love for real, not by a potion, he deserved real love. And not an induced infatuation.

….

The day had come to an end, they needed to get back to their houses before it was too late in the night, but Myungsoo couldn’t let go of Sungjong without revealing the truth, it had to be done today because tomorrow was weekend and they wouldn’t be able to see each other until Monday, and that would kill him… So before saying goodbye at the station Myungsoo grabbed Sungjong by the arm and took him somewhere less crowded.

“Hyung are you ok?” Sungjong gave him a concerned look, because Myungsoo looked pale and he had grabbed him so suddenly.

“Yeah… no” Myungsoo lowered his head “No, Jongie there’s something I need to tell you” He said seriously.

“Is it something bad?” Sungjong sounded a bit afraid.

“yeah…”

“… do you…” Sungjong gulped “Are you going out with someone else already?”

“WHAT?” Sungjong looked expectantly “No! of course, no! what made you think that?!” Myungsoo was really surprised by that, and Sungjong sighed with relief.

“Then it’s nothing that bad, I thought that because you were acting weird for half the date, you were distracted and I thought… I just thought… but of course you’re not that kind of person to deceive someone, I’m sorry Myungsoo hyung” he babbled while doing a small bow.

Myungsoo felt a pang on his chest, damn this was going to be hard. He thought for a second on leaving things as they were, but that would really make him that kind of person, he needed to end this, for Sungjong’s sake.

“Well, I am that kind of person” Sungjong’s eyes grew larger in fear “No, no no no, not exactly like that” and now the boy looked confused. “I did deceive you but it wasn’t like that”

“… Can you explain?”

“… I… poisoned you?”

“YOU DID WHAT? WHEN? Was it on the ice cream? Damn, I knew ice cream would kill me someday” Sungjong was freaking out, he made a choking motion with his hands on his neck.

“OH DAMN NO THE WORDING WAS BAD, I’m sorry let’s calm down” but Sungjong looked afraid as tears were forming in his eyes, Myungsoo felt like scum. So he did it, he explained to Sungjong what had happened, and how he accidentally drank the potion Myungsoo brewed [of course confessing his feelings for Sungjong on the way] Sungjong was calmer now, very much more than before. After Myungsoo finished his rambling he looked at Sungjong, ashamed, and waited for the boy to hit him, scream at him and dump him but instead Sungjong said:

“Oh that, I already knew, you scared me!” he held Myungsoo’s hand and got closer

“What?” Myungsoo was sure the face he was making right now wasn’t in the least attractive, he was, in fact, sure he looked stupid, because he felt stupid, he didn’t understand what Sungjong was saying.

“I said I knew it was a love potion, and I knew it was for me, and I drank it willingly” he stepped closer “Because I already loved you before that, I don’t think it would make much difference on me” and he took one last step, inclined his body forward, and brushed his lips with Myungsoo.

……

That night Myungsoo hit with force his brother in both arms, while Moonsoo asked for quarter, he didn’t know what he did but his arms wouldn’t be able to resist more, it hurt. And then Myungsoo stopped, kissed his brother on the crown of the head and told him with the brightest smile ever “You little sneaky kid, I promise you I’ll buy you a camera” and then dashed away.

“What the f...” Moonsoo just saw confused as his brother slammed his bedroom door closed.

……

Sungjong had explained to Myungsoo that the day before, he and his friends saw him leave the table he was eating at the cafeteria, Moonsoo decided to sit there because he “saw something”, and effectively, the was a little glass bottle on the table with a label that said “Sungjong, Drink me” and Moonsoo started to giggle while handing the bottle to Sungjong, Sungjong asked what it was and Moonsoo told him that it was a love potion, Myungsoo had left the book open on the recipe over the kitchen table and had lots of tiny “Jongie”s scribbled all over the page, and the bottle was merch from an anime they both watched. He even told him “I’m pretty sure it’s my brother’s bottle, it should have a label somewhere that says ‘KMSL’ that’s how he marks his merch to differentiate them from mine” and yes it had that label. Moonsoo also told him something along the lines of “Look, you’re my friend and everything but I assure you, your strategy of being all mysterious doesn’t work with my hyung, he thinks you hate him or something! So just make all of us a favor and confess already”. And so Sungjong did.