Donghyuk sighed for the thousandth time. Currently, him and Junhoe were squished against each other behind a telephone booth. He felt quite guilty for doing this but out of sheer curiosity and worry for one of his best friends, he tagged along anyways. Not too far from them, Chanwoo and Hanbin were sitting on a bench, each sipping on a warm beverage. Donghyuk tucked his face further into his scarf around his neck. He wished he was rolling around his bed, layers of blanket on top of him while hugging a hot thermos.

                Junhoe on the other hand was focused on the ‘couple’ in front of them. Observing every single movement made by Hanbin towards Chanwoo. Hanbin had come close to the younger’s face suddenly, and Junhoe could clearly see the blush splattered across the Chanwoo cheeks. He elbowed Donghyuk causing the other to hunch over in pain, hand tight around his mouth to stop any sounds of pain escaping. He glared at Junhoe before looking over to Chanwoo and Hanbin. It was a sickly sweet interaction that left a bitter taste on his tongue. 

                Without saying much, he dragged Junhoe away from the situation. He decided he’s had enough of stalking these two lovebirds. If he left Junhoe alone, then he would risk him being an idiot and revealing their plans. Chanwoo is an adult, he should know how to take care of himself. Donghyuk ignored the small tantrum made by Junhoe who was struggling to get away and return to his previous spot to observe Chanwoo. Donghyuk tighten his grip onto Junhoe’s wrist, not once looking at the poor boy, and continued dragging them away.

            Junhoe protested once again but stopped once saw Donghyuk’s dark expression. He sighed and walked faster so he was side by side with Donghyuk. Donghyuk stopped gripping Junhoe’s wrist and Junhoe felt quite relieved but the gloomy feeling never left the two of them. They continue their walk back to their cars parked not too far from the park in silence, Donghyuk’s frown never fading and Junhoe left with questions which answers he may never know its answers.

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                Hanbin breathed out a sigh of relief once he no longer saw two figures behind the telephone booth. He had noticed the two ever since him and Chanwoo entered the coffee shop near Chanwoo’s apartment. They initially planned to simply talk in the shops but the extreme glares from two pair of eyes from the table behind them was seriously making him so uncomfortable that he had suggested to hang out at the park nearby instead. At least Chanwoo never noticed them, the boy was too oblivious about everything. Maybe the boy was too nervous about their so called ‘hang out’ that he failed to be aware of his surroundings? The thought brought a small smile to Hanbin’s face.

                Chanwoo was kind of confused when Hanbin focused his attention towards something behind them. He faced the direction, wanting to know why but saw nothing particularly interesting. “Hey, are you okay? What are you looking at?” He said, squinting his eyes to maybe spot anything that might be attract Hanbin’s attention. Hanbin smiled nervously while shaking his head. “Am I that boring that you’re distracted by anything? Was there a pretty girl passing by? Geez, you don’t have to force yourself to hang out with me. I can just walk home.” Chanwoo pouted, averting eyes from Hanbin.

                Hanbin let out a small chuckle and ruffled Chanwoo’s hair softly. He marveled at how soft his brown locks were. Chanwoo was still sulking and refused to look at him. Hanbin poked at his marshmallow-like cheeks trying to gain back the younger’s attention. He can tell that Chanwoo was flustered by his reddening face but the boy held his ground for whatever reason. Maybe his pride? “Chanwoo-yah, I was only distracted for a while. I was listening to your story too. Your manager made you take extra shifts again last night?” Hanbin said, raising his pitch higher to add some cuteness in his voice, earning some grunts from Chanwoo.

                “Lies. I mean, yeah. What you said was right but doesn’t mean you’re paying attention.  Even in the coffee shop you were looking everywhere else but my direction. I told you already, you don’t have to hang out with me. I know I’m not so interesting.” Chanwoo gripped the cup of coffee in his hands and took a sip from it. Somehow, it tasted bitter though it was fine a while ago. Hanbin blinked nervously as he realized how insecure of a person Chanwoo is. He has to avert this topic or else this ‘hang out’ would be their last. He certainly did not want that to happen. Maybe he had to come clean after all.

                “I’m sorry but there’s people following us since the coffee shop. They wouldn’t stop glaring daggers at me. I can’t help but to look back at them.” Hanbin whispered into Chanwoo’s ear. Chanwoo let out a small yelp as he himself started to look around frantically. “Where are they, hyung? What could they possibly want? Were you involved in some underground business or something? Perhaps involving drugs? Now you’ve escaped them and they’re hunting so you don’t tip of the police?” Hanbin was flustered at this kid’s steady stream of questions and accusations. Did Chanwoo just wrote a whole drama plot about him in the matter of seconds? Hanbin’s head felt like exploding.

                “Yah! Stop panicking!” He grabbed Chanwoo’s shoulders and pulled his face close to him. Forcing Chanwoo to stare at his eyes as he tried to calm the boy down. Chanwoo stopped asking questions as he felt some heat rush into his cheeks. How can’t he? He noticed how large Hanbin’s pupil were, as he felt himself dive into the abyss of his eyes. “Hey, you okay now? Have you calmed down?” Hanbin gently asked and their faces were so close that Chanwoo felt the warm breath from Hanbin as they spoke. Chanwoo’s brain was malfunctioning and he nodded frantically, unable to form coherent sentences. He quickly pulled away, putting some distance between them. Any longer and his heart would’ve stopped.

                “By the way, I wasn’t involved in any drug ring nor am I hunted down by some gangster. Do I look that bad to you? You always accuse me of bad things. Even when we first met.” Now it was Hanbin’s turn to be sulky and Chanwoo felt quite bad about it. Hanbin folded his arms in front his chest and faced Chanwoo. His eyes were squinted as his lips pouted. He looked annoyed but he didn’t look super mad. Chanwoo smiled apologetically at him. “Sorry, hyung. My mind just, went everywhere. Maybe I was reading too much crime novels lately.” Hanbin took a sip of his coffee. He wanted to sulk for longer but Chanwoo was being too adorable. He resembled a puppy who was scolded by his owner for dirtying the house. Hanbin sighed and unfolded his arms.

                “Fine, apology accepted. At least I know you’re the creative type now.” Hanbin ruffled Chanwoo’s hair again and Chanwoo beamed as bright as the sun as his apology was accepted. Hanbin blushed for a second but quickly returned his composure back to normal. He wanted to look cool but Chanwoo is so damn cute, he couldn’t help himself. He pinched Chanwoo’s cheeks, almost irritated at how adorable this boy can be. “By the way, how did they look like? Do they look dangerous? Do they-.” Hanbin quickly answered Chanwoo’s questions before he was bombarded by more questions again. “There were two people. One of them was probably as tall as you and the other was my height? I didn’t remember what they wore but they had blonde and black hair.”

                Chanwoo’s curious face slowly turned dark as Hanbin explained more about the details of their so called ‘stalkers’. Hanbin became quite worried at how murderous the younger boy in front of him was getting. Chanwoo was nodding while he hummed. Uttering phrases like ‘Ah, I see’ and ‘oh, okay’ once in a while. Hanbin felt shivers down his spine. He regretted that he even said anything about their stalkers. He wanted the adorable Chanwoo back! He patted Chanwoo’s shoulders and the boy snapped out of his murderous phase. Hanbin asked whether Chanwoo was okay, just to make sure. “Oh! I’m fine. I’m just thinking.” Chanwoo smiled sweetly at Hanbin. Though, Hanbin could still feel some negative auras from the boy, it was much less than before so he’ll take what he can get. They continued talking like normal until they decided that the cold was too much to bear. Hanbin walked Chanwoo back to his apartment building and they waved goodbye to each other as they parted ways.

                “Of how I’m going to kill those two next time I see them.” Chanwoo said to nobody as he made his way back to his apartment.

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                Junhoe had parked his car in the parking area near his university. This particular area was always jammed pack with cars that usually he had to circle the place tons of times in order to get a spot. It was probably due to the fact that this parking lot was the closest to the university but June was too lazy to find for other places to park. However, today was definitely his lucky day. He found a vacant spot in just two minutes! He clenched his fist to the sky to celebrate his small victory. Lady luck had personally paid him a visit today! He grabbed his laptop bag along with a few folders from the passenger seat and exited the car while smiling brightly.

                Junhoe walked into the campus with a spring to his steps. He said hi to a couple of people he knew from class and winked at a group of girls as they were passing him. He could hear them squealing in delight behind him as he smirked smugly. After all, he was aware of how attractive he his. Call him arrogant but no one can deny his looks, charisma and charming personality. He had most of the student’s here wrapped around his gorgeous fingertips. He smirked again at the thought. Upon walking, he saw Chanwoo in front of him. The boy was waving and smiling as usual so Junhoe quickened his pace to reach his friend. Wouldn’t want to keep Chanwoo waiting after all.

                “Hey! How’s it going? You’re pretty early. I thought your class starts around 11 today.” Junhoe greeted Chanwoo as he was walking side by side with his friend. Chanwoo just shrugged his shoulders and said he accidentally woke up early and decided to go to campus since he didn’t have much to do at home. “Hey, June, what did you do yesterday?” Chanwoo asked suddenly and stopped walking causing Junhoe to do the same. Junhoe started to sweat nervously as he tried coming up with an alibi to avoid saying anything about Chanwoo’s date. He couldn’t think of anything and he only managed to utter, “huh?”

                Without missing a beat, Chanwoo grabbed Junhoe’s earlobe and twisted it painfully causing Junhoe to yelp in a high pitched voice. He was practically begging for Chanwoo to stop abusing his ears while spouting words of forgiveness. By the time Chanwoo stopped his little torture session, most people around them were staring at them. Realizing how idiotic and pathetic he must have looked, he turned red and grabbed Chanwoo arm to lead them to a more secluded area. When they were alone, he slumped down as he tucked himself into a ball. “My cool reputation is ruined” He dramatically wept.

                “Serves you right for following me and Hanbin yesterday!” Chanwoo said while glaring at Junhoe on the floor. Junhoe stopped crying and got up and dusted his clothes. He had a meek smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. Junhoe the proceeded to drop onto his knees and bowed down. He put his hand together on top of his head as he asked Chanwoo for forgiveness. Chanwoo was surprised at Junhoe kneeling that he had dropped his mad act to pull him upwards. That position is too much for something like this. He sighed as he accepted Junhoe’s apology. “Whatever. Can you tell me why you followed us though? I seriously don’t understand.”

                “I was just worried for you. There was just so many questions that went throughout my mind when you said you were going on a date with him. What if Hanbin was violent and mean to you? What if he tried to hurt you? What if he only lusted after-.” Chanwoo stopped him before he could finish the sentence. His face was bright red at this point. “First of all, NOT a date. Second, I’m a grown man! I can handle myself without you ‘protecting’ me.” Chanwoo said while puffing his chest to show dominance which only caused Junhoe to burst in laughter. Chanwoo joined him not too long after that and soon they both were just laughing like idiots.

                “So? What’s your verdict? Is Hanbin still such a bad person to you? Did he get your seal of approval?” Chanwoo asked after all the laughter has subsided. Junhoe contemplated for a while. He closed his eyes and concentrated so hard causing Chanwoo to nervously sweat. He felt like a daughter waiting for her father’s approval to marry the guy she loves. “Well, I don’t know yet. Besides, I didn’t see much anyways. Donghyuk dragged me away before I can observe further.” He said nonchalantly and Chanwoo resisted the urge to punch him in the face for being so casual about admitting his stalker-like antics.

                “At least Donghyuk had enough decency to stop you guys from stalking us.” Chanwoo said while massaging his temples. He forgot that even Donghyuk was involved in this. Though he can’t help to be a little bit happy that his friends were actually worried for him. He never knew how much they cared about him. “Yeah, I guess. But when he dragged me away, he had this super dark and scary look on his face. He didn’t even say goodbye when we got to our cars.” Hearing that made Chanwoo feel uneasy.  Something about the ever so cheerful Donghyuk getting upset suddenly didn’t make sense to Chanwoo. Guess the only way to find out is to ask the man himself. Good thing they have a class together in a few hours.

A/N:

Hewwo. I updated uwu

Just kidding. I'm sorry for not updating for such a long time. Wondering if anyone is still reading this hahhhaha

Hope you enjoyed the chapter~

Stay safe everyone <3