It didn’t take long for Bobby to find out that his name was Junhoe.

The two of them had somehow built a routine over the course of two weeks: early morning Jiu-Jitsu training for Junhoe, opening duty at the gym for Bobby. Then they would meet at the curb in front of the Jiu-Jitsu studio at 8AM and drive to school together in Bobby’s car.

Technically his early morning shift was only supposed to last a week, but Bobby found that he didn’t mind getting up early every day. It made the rest of the day so much more productive: he was able to finish his homework every morning before school while he was at the gym, so he was able to devote the rest of his afternoons after school to practicing his rapping.  

More importantly, the schedule allowed him to spend more time with Junhoe.

He put their time together in his car to good use every day by getting to know the other boy a little more, slipping in a question or two in their conversations, such as:

“What was the deal with you and your friends on Halloween anyway?” (just Chanwoo and Donghyuk being losers)

“So why do you like Jiu-Jitsu?” (it gave him a challenge)

“How old are you?” (Junhoe was younger)

“When is your birthday?” (March 31^st)

Bobby also managed to ask a few more personal questions, like whether or not Junhoe was seeing anyone, to which the other boy replied quite instantly that he wasn’t - much to Bobby’s satisfaction (though he would never admit or show it).

Sometimes Junhoe would ask questions too, though with obviously much less enthusiasm than Bobby.

“So what do you want to do after high school?” Junhoe asked Bobby, much to the latter’s surprise. It was the second Monday since they started going to school together, 9 days since they first met (not that Bobby was keeping count).

Junhoe asked it rather absentmindedly like an afterthought, the way someone would make a lazy comment about the weather. If he didn’t sound like he was very much into their conversation, it was the complete opposite of the truth, because he was.

If you asked Junhoe, eight o’clock in the morning was too early to talk to anyone. Even when he used to ride with Chanwoo and Donghyuk to school, he often sat in the backseat quietly, half asleep while his two friends argued about something inane but mildly relevant like which Fyre Festival documentary was better (Chanwoo said Netflix’s, Donghyuk said Hulu’s).

He’d only really turn his brain on by lunch time, arguing with his friends about who was the bigger douchebag – Pharma Bro or that guy who started Fyre Festival with Ja Rule (Junhoe thinks with much conviction it’s Pharma Bro).

But Bobby always seemed to have something interesting to say to keep Junhoe wide awake, even on the earliest and coldest of mornings. And the boy didn’t need much prodding. Often, Junhoe found that Bobby would ask him something and he’d answer with something short and completely useless and boring, but somehow Bobby would be able to pick up on something from what he said and start talking about the most random but fascinating things, like why Nicki Minaj’s verse in “Monster” is one of the best raps in history, for instance.

Junhoe never felt the need to say much in their car rides, because he’d much rather listen to Bobby ramble on about pretty much anything and everything.

“Me?” Bobby slid his hand around the steering wheel, contemplating the younger boy’s question.

“Yeah. What do you do anyway? Besides going to the gym and driving around and stuff.” Junhoe gave a sideways glance to Bobby.   

Bobby chuckled, rubbed the back of his neck, hesitating to answer. “Well…I want to be a rapper.”

He half-expected Junhoe to laugh at him or roll his eyes at him dismissively, but instead, he reacted with his usual nonchalance, as if Bobby answered with something as generic as wanting to work in an office. He’ll take it – it was better than being mocked about his dream.

“You know, I have a friend who wants to be a songwriter and a producer someday,” Junhoe shared. “He’s pretty good at rapping, too.”

Bobby smirked, turning to look at Junhoe. “I bet I’m better,” he teased, voice a little lower and huskier than usual.

Junhoe scoffed. Now, he really did roll his eyes. “Yeah well, I wouldn’t know. I’ve never heard you rap before.”

“Would you want to? Because I have a gig on Saturday. Well, it’s sort of a gig but not really. It’s open mic night at Wabi Sabi. Have you been?” It was the only underground club in their town, and Bobby wasn’t sure that was Junhoe’s scene.

And then it took a full second for Bobby’s brain to catch up to what he had just said – did he just sort of ask Junhoe out? He tried not to show his anxiety and excitement.

Junhoe, on the other hand, remained as nonchalant as ever. He shook his head. “Never.”

Bobby persevered. “Do you want to drop by?” He tried his best not to hold his breath while he waited for an answer.

The other boy only shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll ask Chanwoo and Donghyuk.”

Bobby supposed that was good enough. Granted, a straight up “yes” would’ve been nice. And it would’ve been better if Junhoe didn’t feel the need to drag his friends along. But Bobby was an optimistic guy. This was fine.  

Still, the next day Bobby thought he’d take another shot. He figured he was too subtle when he invited Junhoe to go to Wabi Sabi. So he decided he’d try and be more upfront with his intentions.

“So where do you sit at lunch?” Cafeteria real estate was a big thing in their high school. Where you sat at lunch was critically important to your social standing. Bobby didn’t necessarily subscribe to it, but he figured Junhoe might.

He was mistaken. Junhoe could care less, much to his relief.

“I don’t know, wherever.” The younger boy shrugged. “Chanwoo doesn’t like cafeteria food, so we get drive thru a lot.”

Bobby spotted an opportunity. “Cool. Maybe we should get drive thru sometime.”

Another shrug from Junhoe. “Yeah, maybe. Chanwoo’s car is really small though. It can barely fit the three of us. He likes to bring that flashy sports car to school, the douchebag.”

Okay, so Junhoe really wasn’t good at taking hints. And did he always have to be with his friends like, all the freaking time?

On Friday, Bobby had a plan, one last shot: he’d be discreet, but more…persuasive.

He picked up Junhoe from the Jiu-Jitsu studio like usual and drove off. At the intersection where he usually turned right to go to school, he instead drove straight ahead.

“Uh, dummy, you missed a turn,” Junhoe remarked, mildly annoyed.

“I didn’t. We’re getting breakfast. The diner okay with you?” Bobby tried to sound cool and calm, flashing a bit of a smirk towards the younger, but he was sweating buckets underneath his hoodie. His hands on the steering wheel were clammy and his knuckles were turning white from grabbing on so tightly. He hoped Junhoe wouldn’t notice.

“School’s about to start in 15 minutes.”

“So? Have you never played hooky before?”

“I have, but I have a quiz in the morning. It’s cool though, you can just drop me off here, I can walk the rest of the way.” Junhoe was already putting on his backpack and getting ready to get off the car.

Suffice to say Bobby didn’t have a Plan B. He couldn’t change his mind all of a sudden, decide not to have breakfast and just drive to school – he’d seem like a total loser. Not to mention Junhoe might realize he only really wanted to grab a bite to hang out with him. Which Bobby did, but he didn’t want the younger to find out this way.

So he slowed the car to a stop and let the other boy get out. Already disappointed at the unexpected turn of events, Bobby gave it one last shot.  

“Wait,” He pulled the door back just as Junhoe was supposed to push it open to get out. Suddenly they were too close, and Bobby was momentarily distracted by the other boy’s long lashes, even longer from up close like this. He’d also never noticed the unique shape of the other boy’s eyes, looking at him blankly, maybe a little sleepily. His mouth was slightly agape, lips plush from his habit of biting them all the time. He looked like a sleepy, lost and clueless puppy.  

Bobby tried his hardest not to melt into a puddle from the cuteness. Besides, there was a task at hand. “Are you game? Wabi Sabi tomorrow? Open mic night. I’m first on the line up.” They hadn’t talked about it since the first time Bobby invited him earlier that week. He figured it was his last shot at seeing Junhoe outside of their daily routine.

“Oh, right. Sorry hyung, I don’t think I can. I totally forgot to tell Chanwoo and Donghyuk and I already made other plans. See you Monday though?”

Bobby spent the entire morning at the diner. By lunch he’d decided to skip school entirely for the day.

Maybe he had read too much into their conversations. Maybe he got carried away by his own feelings and somehow projected them into the other boy, thinking he might be feeling the same way. But clearly Junhoe wasn’t interested in the least.

No means no, he thinks. He wasn’t going to be upset about it. And there was no reason to be mad at Junhoe. He took a shot and it didn’t work, and that was okay. No hard feelings.

But maybe he should move his shift at the gym.

While the thought of Junhoe waiting for him by the curb on a cold Monday morning made him feel a little guilty, it wasn’t like they had some sort of agreement. Besides, Junhoe would know what to do when he didn’t show up.

He could always walk to school.