A/N: Parellel chapter to THIS!

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Once he steps outside into the cold night, Sehun hears the door close behind him. Quickly turning around to make sure Jongin (or anybody, for that matter) isn’t there, he quickly jogs off towards a secluded part of the (rather terrifying, if Sehun does say so himself) alley before the coiling in both his stomach and chest can get too constricting. Figuring Jongin went to the bathroom, Sehun ignores the obvious question that is why Jongin didn’t bother informing him first before pulling out his phone and leaning back against the wall. He grimaces when he feels the dampness of the bricks seeping into his back.

Running a hand through his hair, which is sticky from the excessive amounts of gel he had covered it in before coming here, Sehun, careful to avoid stepping on the half eaten slice of pizza half covered in tar on the ground, quickly retrieves his phone from his back pocket before he quickly opens up Safari.

Chuckling at just how inexperienced he is (he blames it on the footballer life never really teaching him a thing about dating), Sehun clicks on the first result that shows up, although a bit reluctantly, before proceeding to scroll through it, eyebrows knitted close together.

1. Eye Contact.

Sehun blinks.

“Notice his eye contact. As already noted, a guy who is interested in you will look at you a lot, even if covertly. He may try to catch your eye or, if he's shy, he may suddenly turn his head away if you catch him checking you out. To test his interest, scan his face for four seconds, then look away (don't look any longer or it becomes awkward). Then look back – if he maintains or increases eye contact with you, he's interested. If his eyes wander to your mouth, he's definitely interested. If you feel like you have held eye contact just a fraction of a second longer than you would with anyone else, or if he looks away quickly, then there is something there. On the other hand, if he breaks eye contact with you and starts looking around the room, he's not interested in you. Keep in mind that a shy guy who is interested will continue to steal glances at you. Be patient!”

Running his tongue over his dry lips, Sehun raids every crevice of his brain for anything that could hint towards Jongin looking at him while they were inside the café, only to turn up with nothing, and he ignores the inevitable feeling of anguish that settles in his chest when it hits him that, if anything, Jongin seemed to be avoiding his gaze every chance he got. Now that he thinks about it, Sehun vaguely remembers the blond keeping his gaze focused in his own lap majority of the time. While I was speaking to him, Sehun thinks and sighs internally. It suddenly hits him that when Jongin wasn’t, in fact, ogling his own lap, he was busy blowing bubbles in his tea while keeping his eyes on his cup the whole time.

Even though Sehun does get shy guy vibes from Jongin most of the time, he quickly dismisses the blond’s shyness as an explanation for his unattentive staring given that, as mentioned, he seemed to find his cup or his lap more interesting than Sehun. When he thinks harder (thinking isn’t exactly difficult since the entire alley is dead silent), he also remembers when he had pulled Jongin to his feet when the latter failed to properly get up from his beanbag, which still makes Sehun chuckle a little, and how the blond had practically scrambled for dear life to get away from him, all while avoiding the taller’s gaze. Sehun figures it was due to the fact that he’d (subconsciously, he admits, and regrets) continued to hold on to Jongin’s hand even after it became clear the latter could stand on his own. Sehun clearly remembers how close they had been standing at the time, their chests practically touching, and as much as it makes his heart skip a beat just thinking about it, he has to swallow the sense of agony that creeps up his throat when he realizes Jongin was most certainly uncomfortable.

In fact, if Sehun had a radar to detect Jongin’s discomfort levels during those few (intimate) seconds, he figures it would spur out of control and self combust.

Biting his lip, Sehun’s thumb seems to move of its own accord and before he gets a chance to process what he’s doing, he’s scrolling down.

“If his eyes wander to your mouth, he's definitely interested.”

Again, Sehun thinks back to when he’d been in the process of cleaning Jongin’s face, and he oh so clearly remembers Jongin’s eyes trailing down to his lips, at least so Sehun assumes (and noticed) given their close proximity. Even so, Sehun quickly dismisses that, too. Who on Earth wouldn’t gawk at somebody if they had a thick layer of brown tea coating their lips?

2. Body Language.
 

“He leans towards you a lot. Personal space invasion is a sign of major interest.”

Sehun blinks. He can’t remember if Jongin ever did anything that closely resembled leaning towards him, given that they were sitting across from each other half of the time, during which the blond, as mentioned, seemingly chose to stare at his lap or his drink majority of the time. Once Sehun’s brain gets a chance to properly rethink everything, he suddenly remembers the short moment he and Jongin had shared when he offered (well, to be more precise, forced himself to, given he didn’t even give the latter a chance to reply, something he regrets) to wipe the tea off of the blond’s after he had spat it out, and he clearly remembers Jongin leaning in ever so slightly, but Sehun figures it was most likely subconsciously, hence why he instinctively responded by leaning away as to not make the blond uncomfortable.

“He might start grooming himself.”

Sehun nearly chuckles because dear God, did Jongin groom himself, alright. In fact, the blond ran his hand through his own hair so many times Sehun lost count after two minutes. But alas, the latter personally wouldn’t interpret it as a sign of attraction or interest, given that the blond’s hair was practically a mess from the start, anyway. I’d run a hand through my hair 2,000 times, too, he thinks to himself before continuing. Who the hell wouldn’t.

3. Listen To What He’s Saying.

Sehun bites his lip.

“Listen to what he's saying. If he likes you, and he's nervous or anticipating the chance to get closer to you, he'll probably start talking about himself. Many times, guys feel the need to prove themselves, especially if you talk about another guy in his company.”

Sehun definitely doesn’t remember talking about another guy in Jongin’s company and he almost breathes out a sigh of relief until he suddenly remembers he’d mentioned Junmyeon a handful of times. Darn.

Did he talk about himself? Sehun racks his brain for an answer and furrows his eyebrows when he remembers how Jongin had talked about his (immensely difficult, Sehun thinks) relationship with his sister and his Dad, but there’s a nagging feeling at the back of Sehun’s head that repeatedly tells him that it doesn’t fall into the category of ‘Jongin talking about himself’, and rather ‘Jongin talking about his family'. He figures they’re two completely different topics. All in all, the blond didn’t show any signs of needing to prove himself, especially given that he didn’t seem to react too much when Sehun had mentioned Junmyeon, and instead focused on blowing bubbles in his drink, so Sehun quickly dismisses that, too.

4. Notice His Interest In Touching And Being Touched.

“Touch is an important sign of interest in a developing relationship and you can assess interest both by observing how he touches you and how he reacts to you touching him.”

Sehun runs a hand through his hair. Once again, if he had some sort of radar that could detect the levels of discomfort in Jongin, Sehun figures it would self combust and end up blowing the entire café up. Where do I even begin. He remembers how Jongin had practically frozen in place the second Sehun grabbed his hand and pulled him up with an unreadable look on his face, one that Sehun can only interpret as a look of pure discomfort, especially given that he, unfortunately, refused to let go of the blond’s hand for a painstakingly long time afterwards.

Something in Sehun’s chest constricts a little when he remembers how he’d touched the lower half of Jongin’s face to get the latter to look at him after spilling his heart out, mainly because he wanted an excuse to touch the blond - something he deeply regrets, now that he thinks about it. Jongin’s eyes were practically buzzing with discomfort and Sehun nearly chuckles. How could I have been so dumb not to notice.

5. Check For Signs Of Nervousness.

“Check for signs of nervousness. Signs of nervous laughter, sweaty palms, deep breaths, fidgeting, or possibly even looking away quickly when you notice he is watching you, can all be signs of an attraction towards you. If he is nervous about making an impression on you, it means he's trying hard and you are probably very close to being able to start making moves.”

Did he ever laugh? is all Sehun thinks to himself. Jongin did, in fact, look away quickly, very quickly, when Sehun noticed look at him but the latter figures the blond did it far, far too many times for it to be considered attraction and not downright discomfort. Not to mention he figures Jongin is, alongside the shy type, the restless type.

6. Observe His Friends.

“Pay attention to his friends. If they know he's interested in you, they might subtly when you're around, hint to you that he likes you, or even try to find out if you like him. Study their reactions to your presence – do they smile? Do they turn to him? Do they smirk in a way that suggests they know something that you don't?”

Sehun furrows his eyebrows. He’s only met (although he uses the term 'met' very loosely) Jongin’s friends twice and so far, they haven’t done anything that could possibly hint towards them knowing something about the blond that Sehun doesn’t. In fact, the latter vaguely remembers them not even sparing him a glance when he walked up to their table at lunch; if anything, Catboy seemed to have his eyes on Chanyeol while the redhead seemed to ogle Junmyeon. As much as Sehun figures Jongin’s friends aren’t the best thing to go by, he dismisses that, too to be on the safe side.

Quickly closing out of the Safari app, Sehun leans his head against the cold and slightly wet wall before taking a deep breath. The cold air nearly burns his airways when he inhales and his breath leaves his mouth in the form of white, translucent fog. At some point while he was reading, he thought he heard the door to the café open and close, very closely followed by the sound of somebody murmuring lowly, probably talking to a friend, but he figures it was probably the computer girl, which is why he didn’t bother poking his head around the corner and checking it out. He wouldn’t know how to explain himself to her if she was she to spot him, anyway.

Did I seem too unapproachable? Too stoic? Does football bore him? Was my advice not good enough? Does he think I’m a douchebag? Am I too intimidating? He thinks to himself, the thoughts crashing down on him all at once and he has to rub his temples in fear of them possibly exploding from the excessive amounts of thinking. The smell of Jongin’s perfume (or was it hairspray, Sehun thinks; he isn’t quite sure), an overwhelmingly sweet scent of what he assumes is strawberry mixed with a hint of manliness, but mostly strawberry, is locked in his head and he doesn’t know if he loves it or hates it.

The feeling of the the blond’s hand pressing against his palm is enough to make Sehun clench his jaw in irritation, an irritation that only grows stronger when he remembers Jongin was most likely freaked out of his mind at the time (his startled, wide-eyed look said it all, Sehun figures).

Is he pissed at me for interrupting his number exchange thing earlier?

A wave of nausea hits him and he hisses in pain when he kicks a trash can in frustration (in his defense, he had no idea it was a trash can given the darkness), bending down to rub the sore spot on his foot. Was he genuinely interested in giving her his number? he thinks and nearly chuckles. I caught him kissing her , for God’s sake!

He flinches a little when he suddenly hears a noise to his right, in the distance. It almost sounds like somebody dropping a beer can on the ground (which he thinks is strange, since the noise sounds more...solid) and he inwardly panics since he’d rather not have a run-in with a drunk, homeless man at this hour, in the dark, especially not where he’s currently standing, even though he's highly aware of the fact that he'd be able to take down a drunk, and thus staggering, homeless person without breaking a sweat. But even so.

A second wave of nausea hits Sehun, seemingly on cue, and it takes every fiber in his being not to lean over and retch into the trash can, the one he just kicked. He runs a tired hand through his hair, the course strands feeling much like a horse’s mane against his palm. He’d never been a hundred percent sure, of course, but there was always this one little voice at the back of his head that assured him that the blond was, in fact, into guys. Not that there’s anything about the blond that would make Sehun believe he was gay for certain, but Sehun couldn’t shake the feeling, anyway, and he believed himself to be correct for a while. But now, however, Sehun isn’t nearly as certain anymore, especially not considering the fact that he’d caught the blond ogling the blonde girl, the one who’d come up to his table yesterday, as she exited the cafeteria. Sehun very clearly remembers the way Catboy had shot Jongin a smirk the second the two girls had left the room, closely followed by the redhead. Since Jongin had his back to Sehun, the latter couldn’t see his reaction, which he’s extremely thankful for, but regardless, he figures it wouldn’t have been necessary, anyway.

One thought leads to another, and Sehun shoves his phone in his pocket when he remembers how he’d turned the corner leading up to the café, only to spot two girls, whom he had never seen before. In the dim lighting, he could barely make out their provocative clothing and he momentarily wondered what on Earth two skimpily clad women were doing outside a café at this hour, but all his thoughts were quickly erased when he’d averted his gaze just a tad bit and spotted none other the blond, Jongin, and Sehun clearly remembers how badly his stomach had constricted when he, upon closer inspection, noticed the blond clearly ogling the shorter woman. Her legs, to be exact, and how quickly he had moved to hide in the same corner. He remembers how his mind had reeled as he sat there, out of sight, and contemplated what to do next. Half of him wanted to turn on his heel and run back home, but the other half of him managed to convince himself he was simply seeing things; overanalyzing, as he’d called it, so, after five minutes of calming himself down, he reluctantly poked his head around the corner, again. Now, he had no idea what he’d been expecting, but it most certainly wasn’t to see the blond with his face seemingly buried between the other woman’s s. Again, Sehun blames the darkness for not letting him see properly (not that he’d have liked to, but still), but he’s at least ninety percent sure he saw Jongin with, as mentioned, his face in said woman’s chest. Either that, or he was kising her neck; Sehun isn’t quite sure. Either way, he doesn’t want to know and it sends a cold shrill down his spine.

Did I come on too strong?

Sehun bites his lip when he hears the door open and close a second time, and he figures it’s the cashiers going home for the night. He hears the sound of a bus pulling up in the distance and he fights the urge to run towards it, get on it and go home. But he doesn’t for reasons unknown even to himself.

Does he know I’m gay? Did that freak him out?

. Sehun takes another deep breath and flinches slightly when he hears a strange noise in the distance, a little closer to where he’d heard the bus. He can’t quite identify it, but it almost sounds a lot like a cat hissing or regurgitating. Probably one of those grotesque homeless cats coughing up a hairball, he thinks before successfully blocking out the noise and swallowing the lump in his throat.

In desperate need of knowing what to do next, Sehun pulls out his phone. 9:17 PM. They should be on the bleachers by now, he thinks before dialling Junmyeon’s number. Sehun wholeheartedly expects Junmyeon not to pick up since he’s at least a hundred percent sure the latter is pissed at him for ditching him (and despite Sehun convincing himself he wouldn’t regret the whole ordeal later on, he’s beginning to doubt himself), which is why he’s overly surprised when he hears the familiar, loud voice of his best friend.

“Sehun?” Junmyeon asks, seemingly out of breath. “How’re you?” he asks, voice slightly muffled and Sehun figures he’s in the midst of chugging a bottle of water.

“Hey,” Sehun says, making sure to keep his voice down. “Uh, I’ve been better,” he chuckles. “Listen-”

“How’s your date thing going, by the way? She makin’ any moves on you?” Junmyeon asks. “And before you peg me for talking on the phone on the field, I’m on the bleachers with Yeol; injured his arm after a measly- tackle. You aren’t missing out on much, though, we’re ahead by 12 points. Anyway, yeah, how’s everything?”

Sehun bites his lip. “I, I don’t know, uh. Look, I think she’s in the bathrooms and I’m out here, I don’t think she’s come out and I don’t think she will. Look, I was uh, planning on bailing out on the whole thing,” he says, swallowing.

Junmyeon is silent for a while. “How come?”

“I think, I, , it’s just- I think I came on too strong and freaked her out and- . I know it sounds stupid as hell but I just looked up on my phone and I wholeheartedly don’t think she’s into me, it , I know, I mean-”

“Calm down, dude,” Junmyeon says before hissing something along the lines of ‘shut it, Yeol!’. “Sorry. Anyway, how do you know she isn’t into you?”

“She uh, didn’t look at me while I was talking to her and seemed super eager to leave when I touched her and- yeah, I don’t think this is gonna work,” Sehun babbles, kicking pebbles on the ground. “And she took some random girl’s number and I caught her ogling her and with her face in-” He quickly closes his mouth and grits his teeth in irritation. ing .

Junmyeon is silent for a long while before he replies. “...Dude?”

“What?” Sehun asks, dread prominent in his voice.

“Of ing course she isn’t into you,” Junmyeon says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He huffs when Sehun goes silent. “You’re obviously dating a lesbian, ,” he adds and cackles.

Sehun blinks. Brain still fuzzy, he swallows. “Funny, Myeon,” he babbles in desperation. “No seriously, I really want this to work out but I just-”

“What else it there to know?” Junmyeon asks. “She’s obviously a lesbian and not into you, man, I’m sorry, women are complex creatures, you know that. Look, Coach is giving me the evil eye from across the field, I’m gonna have to-”

“Wait.”

Junmyeon scoffs. “What?”

Sehun squeezes his eyes shut before exhaling slowly. Well, no use in going back now, he thinks before opening his mouth. “It’s not a girl.” He blinks when he doesn’t hear anything on the other end of the line and momentarily wonders if Junmyeon has hung up on him. “Hel-”

“What did you say?”

“It’s a guy,” Sehun says and swallows the lump in his throat. “Look, I-”

“Wait,” Junmyeon says, voice alarmingly flat. “You’re ga-”

“Just tell me what to do, quick,” Sehun squabbles, running a hand through his hair in frustration, all while ignoring the feeling of dread coiling deep inside his gut.

“If he’s interested, he’ll show it. If he’s not interested, he’ll show it,” Junmyeon says lowly, voice a tad bit different. “Be patient and relax,” he adds and Sehun hears the faint sound of a whistle being blown in the background. “Gotta go, see ya.” And with that, he hangs up.

Shoving his phone back in his pocket, Sehun instinctively reaches up and wipes at his eyes, which are wet; very wet, and he honestly doesn’t know if it’s because he can practically see his future football career, including his best friends (and teammates) fading before his eyes, or the fact that he has absolutely no idea what to make of the situation with Jongin whatsoever, if the latter is still here, that is. Either way, it makes his heart throb, and not in a good way.

Does he even deserve somebody like me?

After finally pulling himself together, Sehun quickly regains his composure before making sure his face isn’t too wet since that’d be awfully embarrassing. He checks his phone one last time to make sure the blond hasn’t sent him anything in the past minute (not that Sehun thinks he has, but still) only to find nothing, and he quickly shoves it back in his pocket before clearing his throat and turning the corner, instantly relieved when the smell of garbage fades. So he went home, he thinks. Fair enough.

As he walks down the narrow path, Sehun blinks when he realizes it’s gotten so dark out he can hardly see his own hand in front of his face. He figures it’s a good thing, though, in case his face is still wet. He quickly shoves the blond’s face, voice and scent aside, with much difficulty, as he focuses on successfully making it down the pitch black path without tripping over his own two feet.

The feeling of Jongin’s hand against his own makes his palm tingle uncontrollably and he has to ball his hand into a fist in order to get the feeling to disappear. He’s sure he’s just imagining it, but all around him he’s certain he can smell the blond’s strawberry scented perfume. As a matter of fact, after a few seconds, Sehun is nearly convinced that he can, in fact, smell Jongin’s hairspray as he continues to make his way down the narrow path.

Sehun is in the midst of wondering whether or not he’s gone insane when he suddenly lets out a squawk of surprise when his right knee suddenly hits something soft, yet solid, and the next thing he knows, he’s struggling to stay balanced and he tumbles down to the ground.

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