“Lucas! Aiden! Glad the both of you came!” Spencer watched as his friend, with whom he was talking to just a second ago, walks towards two newcomers.

It was a Saturday evening when his friend, Casey, invited him for a small gathering in the young lad’s house, claiming that it was a mini celebration since he most recently adopted a pet cat–to welcome the newest baby of course! But really, everyone knew it was just an excuse and Casey just really loves to host small gatherings in his humble abode given how much of a social butterfly he is. 

Spencer silently followed behind Casey to also greet the new people who just arrived. 

“Spencer, this is Lucas and Aiden. Gentlemen, this is my friend, Spencer,” Casey introduces the three. Spencer faced the two strangers and shook the hand of the man named, Lucas, giving him a polite small smile then shifted his gaze to the other person slightly behind Lucas. 

As soon as his eyes landed on the figure, his breath hitched and his tummy felt weird. He wanted to blink to see if he was seeing things but at the same time, he couldn’t. He couldn’t spare a single second and look away from what was in front of him. God, was the man insanely gorgeous! Was he even real? It felt like he was staring at an angel and he could’ve sworn he even saw the man glowing, literally glowing! He was simply just…ethereal.

In the small town of Los Tesoros, everyone almost knows everyone but Spencer has never seen this man in his 18 years of existence. He would never forget that face after seeing it once!

Now, Casey, his friend, was the epitome of beauty in their little town–fair-skinned, slender legs, small frame, medium-length soft curly brown locks, and big cat-like eyes. He exudes feminine gentleness but also masculine sensuality. But nothing compares to the man standing in front of him at the moment.

The figure was sporting a cascade-collared flowy long sleeves white top tucked into his fitted beige pants, a beige vest on top, and black boots. He has silky light golden brown hair, the fringe almost reaching his eyes but not enough to hide those almond-shaped eyes. His skin was a smooth honey tone with no hints of any blemishes or scars, and his lips–his thin, soft-looking, rosy lips. 

Spencer had the urge to touch those lips and check if they are as soft as they look. He lifted his hand and almost reached out to touch the man but a slight brush against his side snapped him out of the daze. Even without turning, he knows Casey was looking at him with amusement. 

It was then he realized that he just spent a whole minute ogling the gorgeous creature without saying anything. Spencer feels his blood rush to the tips of his ears. So much for having a good first impression! In an attempt to redeem himself, he cleared his throat and fixed his held-out hand.

 “Nice to meet you, Aiden. I’m Spencer”

“Likewise,” the other young lad then grabs his awaiting hand, accepting his handshake. The two men offered each other a small smile, gazes still holding onto each other. Spencer’s brain takes a small note of how Aiden’s hand feels soft and smooth, with no hints of callouses or even scratches. He knows he needs to let go but for some reason, he never really wanted to. He couldn’t describe how he was feeling at the moment, he doesn’t even know what this weird feeling was but if there was one thing he knows, it was that he likes it. He likes the foreign feeling very much.

Hyukjae blinks and slightly shakes his head to clear his thoughts. Currently, the black-haired young man was situated in a cafe inside their campus. Said cafe was near the field where the soccer team is currently having one of their training and it was just perfect that his seat was by the front corner of the cafe, right beside the glass and he was able to watch the view if he wanted to but not near enough for it to be too distracting–which was actually good because Hyukjae really couldn’t afford any distractions anymore.

Hyukjae really loves this cafe because one, they have delicious pastries with good coffee, and two, the ambiance was calm and peaceful. The people who frequent the cafe are also either studying or reading a book, thus, there wasn’t much noise except for the low chatter by some group of people and soft instrumental music playing in the background. 

However, no matter how motivating his favorite cafe was, Hyukjae was still having a hard time focusing. He really didn’t have any classes for today but he woke up early and went to the cafe as soon as it opened, planning to spend the rest of the day doing some advanced studying. Honestly, Hyukjae doesn't have that many hobbies so he spends most of his time reading, reading, and reading. This was actually a perfect day to relax a bit but not for Hyukjae. Not after his mistake the previous day. Not after missing one class. It was some form of self-punishment that reminds him he ed up. 

“Hyuk,” a voice snapped him out of his thoughts once again. He shifted his gaze to where the voice came from and watched as the stranger pulls the seat in front of him to sit down. “Hello Teuk Hyung,” Hyukjae offers the other person a small smile. 

Park Leeteuk was a friend, majoring in Business Management, whom he met in one of the clubs he was affiliated with–the university student council. No, Hyukjae was not an officer but he was part of the staff who sometimes helps out the student council which Leeteuk was a part of. Coincidentally, said friend was also his blockmate in his French elective class–the one he missed the day before. Yes, it was an elective class.

“I was surprised when you didn’t show up in class yesterday. I thought something bad happened,” Leeteuk’s voice was gentle. He wasn’t teasing or judging and Hyukjae also did not miss the slight worry laced in the tone.

“Yeah, I..uhm…overslept. Uhm, yeah, so…” Hyukjae’s entire body slightly warmed up and he felt the blood rush into his cheeks. 

“Oh, come on, no need to be embarrassed, Hyuk. That happens sometimes. Although, kinda surprising that it also happens to someone like you. A top student who never makes a mistake,” Leeteuk was just obviously teasing him but Hyukjae’s blood ran cold. His body stiffened a bit at the remembrance of his small stupid incident. But of course, he wouldn’t let Leeteuk notice how much of a big deal that was to him. It was more embarrassing to be fretting over something so small. So, he quickly forces himself to relax his body and just gives a sheepish smile in return.

“You seem a bit distracted today, Hyuk. Is something bothering you?” 

Hyukjae blinks. He didn’t know what indication showed that he was distracted. He was sitting in the same relaxed position, he was looking at the older man’s eyes, and he was responding to the other–at least he likes to think so. But before he could question the other, his mind was once again brought back to the dream he had the previous night. The one he was just recalling earlier before his friend showed up.

Was he going to tell his friend about it? Is it even a big deal? What would he say even? That he was being distracted over a dream? Who was Aiden? Who was Spencer? Was he Spencer? He felt like he was being addressed with that name in that dream. A  weird dream which felt very much real to him. 

Deciding that it wasn’t worth fretting over, he just shakes his head and muttered, “ maybe I’m just tired, Hyung.” 

He is unsure if Leeteuk bought his excuse but he was glad that the other chose to let the topic go. Leeteuk just nodded his head and after a few seconds of silence, he moved to grab something from his bag.

“Here,” the other man slides his notes across the table, handing it over to Hyukjae which the latter gladly accepts.

“Thank you very much, Hyung! I promise I will return these to you as soon as I am done copying them!”

Leeteuk chuckles, “no need to rush, Hyuk, take your time. But are you planning to stay here all day again?”

Leeteuk didn’t need an answer from the black-haired man. The small smile he got was the answer he needed. Sighing with a soft smile adorning his face, the young man stands up from his seat, getting ready to leave. 

“Alright, but just make sure to eat your lunch, okay? We don’t need you getting stomach pains again for missing lunch,” Hyukjae smiled at the older man and nodded. With one last glance, Leeteuk ruffled his hair and exits the place.

–

    It was a bit after lunch when Hyukjae decided to take a break. He checks the time on his smartphone and sees that it was only 1 PM. He leans back on his chair and stares at the ceiling of the cafe. He knows he needed to go out and grab his lunch but was he even hungry? He still has much to study so does he even have time to eat lunch? 

    Sighing, he decides that yes, he was going to go grab lunch before any of his friends find out he was planning to skip again. He slowly fixes his things and put them in his cream-colored backpack. He props said bag on his lap and look outside the window for a bit, feeling a bit tired to get up. 

    He was about to stand up and head out when a group of people hanging out by the field caught his eyes. Or more specifically, a certain person within the group captured his attention. The man has light brown slightly wavy hair which was longer than his own black hair but short enough to not reach his neck. He was a bit muscular which can be seen through his slightly fitted uniform. He has tan golden skin, a perfectly chiseled face, thin lips, and almond eyes.

    Oh! He was the man Hyukjae bumped into the previous day! Hyukjae gotta admit, the man was handsome and a bit attractive. He has this calming and captivating aura that attracts people to look, if not to approach the person with his friendly vibe radiating all over the place.

    Hyukjae watched as the man laughed and joked around with his friends. Something in his heart clenched and his stomach twisted in a weird positive way. The man looked so…carefree, so happy, so alive and Hyukjae briefly wonders how that would feel like? Not caring about the world, not much to think about, not working your off for the future but as quick as these entered his thoughts, as fast as they went away.

    No. Hyukjae was different. He has plans and goals and he certainly has no time to entertain such thoughts. He cannot be distracted now. He cannot afford to be indecisive and stray now.

    Hyukjae cannot count anymore how many times he shook his head that morning just to clear his thoughts. With a pinched expression, he stands up and slings his bag over his shoulder. He takes one last glance at the laughing man and heads out to the nearest fast-food chain to grab his lunch. 

    Annoying. That laugh was so annoying to look at.