When I first saw you, I didn’t fall for you | 처음 봤을 때 반하진 않았어

 

Youngjae hates—loathes—it whenever Himchan drags him out to meet people, because he knows that the older man is trying to hook him up with some random stranger that is willing to befriend Kim Himchan. “I’m just trying to be a good hyung and widen your connections.” Himchan would always aggravatingly say, even though Youngjae never recalled ever asking the man to “widen his connections”. And as much as Youngjae didn’t want to (and he really did not want to) Youngjae would let Himchan drag him to whatever movie, coffee place, or restaurant the arrangement was at.

This time it was a club, another thing Youngjae despises -  almost as much as he despises Himchan. “I am going home,” Youngjae bluntly stated the moment his eyes were blinded by the glowing red sign reading ‘The Catch’; it wasn’t the title that turned Youngjae away, but their slogan below it, “To reel in your prey.”

“Yoo Youngjae I worked my off to make you look a little more presentable so that hopefully someone would get over the fact that your face screams ‘I HAVE A STICK UP MY HOLE’ and try to bang you. We are entering this club.” Himchan fumed at the shorter male and pulled them right up to the bouncer, who witnessed Himchan’s rant and was more than happy to let the two males by.

Clubs were most definitely not Youngjae’s cup of tea, especially when it involved a certain Kim Himchan. The first and what-was-supposed-to-be the last time Youngjae went into one of these places ended up with Himchan giving him the googly eyes the entire time, barfing on his clothes (that they just bought the very same day), and then him having to pay for both the drinks and the taxi ride back. “I swear hyung, this time I will leave you to rot here by yourself. I am not kidding.”

Himchan, paying no attention to his best friend’s empty threat, dragged Youngjae to a red booth matching the color of the sign hanging outside the club. Youngjae made a dying penguin noise at the sight of their entire friend circle already there, some already piss-drunk. This meant two things to Youngjae: one, he had to socialize, and two, the most terrible of them both, Himchan had someone to take care of him when Youngjae leaves his - and he was sohoping tonight was going to be the night Himchan laid cold and motionless at an alley corner. Oh well, some wishes take time to happen.

“Youngjae hyung you’re alive!” Junhong eagerly yanked Youngjae down to the seat next to him. “Later Jongup hyung and I are having a dance battle, make sure to cheer for us!”

Youngjae sighed as he nodded at Junhong, his enthusiasm was already too much for Youngjae to handle. Earlier than he expected, Youngjae was already envisioning his laptop and bed waiting patiently for him at home. Instead he had to sulk while sitting on a extremely uncomfortable red leather booth, glaring at Himchan.

“Where’s Daehyun?” Himchan asked around. “He’s even later than us, making Youngjae look presentable takes a lot of time.” Himchan flipped (yanked)  his hair and Youngjae took the effort to reach across the table to flick the black haired boy on the head.

How could he forget, this is still one of Himchan’s many attempts to get himself laid. And once again, it would fail - not because he was aeual or anything, but because he liked his men with class. And the ones Himchan chooses, frankly, lacks a lot of that criteria.

Before anyone was able to answer his question, a grey haired boy arrived. Youngjae assumed this was the ‘Daehyun’  Himchan was nagging about. With blank face, Youngjae clearly checked out the new guy. Right off the bat the sick silvery-grey hair was enough to turn him off, but Youngjae had to admit, the thick lips and mole under his left eye was really hot.

Even so, Youngjae wanted no part of Himchan’s matchmaking attempts. He got up from the leather seat and grabbed Daehyun’s hand and firmly shook it once before collecting his things. “Hi nice to meet you, I’m Yoo Youngjae, good night.”

Youngjae was out that door so quick he missed the hilariously confused face Daehyun had on.

 

When I saw you for the second time, your smile was quite pretty | 두 번 봤을 땐 웃는 게 참 이쁘네

 

Grocery shopping actually makes Youngjae somewhat happy. It’s also one of the few times he willingly ventures out to the great outdoors (granted he usually goes around 12 at night but nevertheless, going out is going out). There’s just something about picking produce with the longest expiration date or the fruit with the least bruises that made Youngjae hate life a little less.

 

When Youngjae reached the honey section, he cursed whatever idiot that put his favorite honey on the top self; he mentally notes to write a letter to the store about their new planogram. He is a decent height for a male but these shelves are actually extremely tall, giving an optical illusion to whatever passerby that sees him.

 

So Youngjae is left to stare at the bottle, mockingly looking down at him, literally. Perhaps he can break one of society’s secret rules of not stepping on the self to get the item on top, but then he’d look (more) like a kid. By now, like a normal person, Youngjae would have asked a worker to reach the gooey sweetness for him, but there was none in sight. This lead to Youngjae be even more annoyed at life, “Why is it at -o’clock in there is workers, but not at a normal time.”

 

“Youngjae?” An unfamiliar voice called out. “Yoo Youngjae right?”

 

“Yes…?” Youngjae tentatively took a step back as the stranger approached too close to his personal bubble.

 

The said stranger waited for a further response which never came. Instead of walking away, the man just laughed as he held out his hand. “I’m Jung Daehyun, were kinda met at a club before you ya know, left?”

 

A ding rang in Youngjae’s head and he nodded in recognition of the name. He reached out and gave Daehyun a proper handshake. “It’s nice to meet you? Your hair is significantly less grey.” He may or may have not purposefully avoided apologizing for his behavior at the club, because Youngjae tries to not lie.

 

“Yeah I decided that wasn’t really my style.” Daehyun reached up and messed with his new brown locks. “So,” Daehyun gestured at the honey, “need help?”

 

“Oh? Uh, yeah a little, but uh…” Youngjae skeptically looked at Daehyun, “we’re kinda the same height.”

“Nonsense! I am a good two inches taller.” Daehyun placed his grocery basket down and rolled up his sleeves. But unfortunately for him, when Daehyun reached out for the product, he met the same fate as Youngjae. “Or not…” Daehyun quickly retracted his hand and craned his head around to look for a worker.

 

“What was that about being two inches taller?” Youngjae crossed his arms, leaned his weight on his left hip, and pursed his lips to the same side. To top off the sundae, he added a lift of his left eyebrow, because there’s no such things as a sundae without that bright red as cherry.

 

Daehyun pressed his index finger to Youngjae’s lips, hushing the boy before whispering “I got this.” With a sudden flame of determination in his eyes (as red as Youngjae’s cherry), Daehyun rolled up his sleeves and climbed up the bottom shelf of the section.

 

“Oh my actual God.” Youngjae half cries at the looks the moms and grandmas are giving him, and half pees his pants at the ridiculous child in front of him hanging off the honey shelf.

 

“I GOT IT!” Daehyun waves the plastic bottle in the air with a loud victory cry, eyes gleaming in joy and huge smile on his face. Youngjae’s breath remains the same, unlike the fanfics he always read, but instead, his heart stops, because wow Jung Daehyun’s smile can go against the laws of nature.

 

“Will the man on aisle 8 please remove himself from the shelf.”

 

Now that I’ve seen you for the third time, my heart beats a bit | 세 번 보니까 조금씩 가슴이 뛰어

 

On Youngjae’s door there’s three permanent indents personally perforated by Kim Himchan. One right next to the peephole because that’s where Himchan usually bangs his hand on. The second under the peephole because that’s where Himchan’s nose usually hits when Youngjae slams the door on his face. And the last one two inches from the floor, beneath the peephole because that’s where Himchan’s right foot usually ends up kicking.

 

“YAH YOO YOUNGJAE OPEN THE DOOR!” Himchan yelled through the door, increasing his indents even more. “YOU PROMISED JUNHONG THAT YOU WOULD HELP!”

After a few more screams and bangs, Youngjae finally opened the door looking as dowdy as ever. An immediate scowl came on his face when he and Himchan had eye contact. “Yes hyung?”

 

“Oh honey, you look hideous.” Himchan sauntering in, took off his shoes, and sat himself down on Youngjae’s couch. “I think I have to do a prayer dance to the heavens to make you look good.”

 

Sighing, Youngjae closed the door and sat next to Himchan. Well, more like curled up in a ball and hugged the pillow next to Himchan. Youngjae rubbed his eyes and mumbled something about waking up from fluffy penguins to heinous godzilla.

 

“Like seriously you look like cinderella post-midnight when she’s drunk as . But if you want to go like that fine by me.” Himchan as usual ignored Youngjae and continued listening to his own voice.

 

“Hyung go home.”

 

“Then again you look better now than-.”

 

“I still have four more hours.”

 

“Your normal ‘deer in the headlights’ face-”

 

“What the hell hyung?”

 

“But I have to be seen with you and I have a problem with being around homeless looking people. Plus I refuse to let you go to Junhong’s birthday party looking like that.” Himchan made an emphasized gesture at the black haired boy on the coach before ending his rant with crossing his legs and folding his hands on top of his knee.

 

Groaning, Youngjae dragged himself to the bathroom while spewing curses on everything Kim Himchan loves which involves his beloved brush and addicting americanos. And like every time these two friends are in the same room, every second between them is spent bickering. Eventually the clock ticked to 7pm, the time Junhong’s party starts and Himchan still haven’t deemed any of Youngjae’s clothing acceptable. By the time the clock hit 8 Youngjae gave up and went with what he was wearing, loose white button up shirt with his sleeves rolled up with black jeans and black shoes.

 

“No, you still haven’t gotten the right balance of casual and classy!” Himchan protested and was about to dive once again into Youngjae’s closet if it wasn’t for the fact that the younger boy was leaving his apartment with Himchan’s car keys.

 

“I’m locking the door hyung!” Youngjae called out as if he was calling out to a 4-year-old, and Himchan scrambled to put on his shoes and dashed in the car.

 

When they arrived the party barely started. It was held at Yongguk’s place because their hyung had the best bass speakers and soundproof walls - some extra benefits for having a music major as a friend. Youngjae immediately searched for the tall child (child because Youngjae is still in denial about the legality of his dear friend), and found him conversing with one of his school friends. Granted the majority of this party would just be Junhong’s schools friends but he still came just for the boy.

 

“Junhonggie! Happy birthday!” Youngjae cut off the conversation and gave the boy a hug. Giving the other kids a look that says ‘you may go to school with him but I was there when he broke his arm at his first dance class’.

 

“Youngjae hyung! Thanks for coming and helping me out for the party. I just need you to refill the food and juice bowls in the kitchen.” Junhong pointed to where the kitchen was at, as if Youngjae didn’t know already.

 

“No problem Junhong.” Youngjae ruffled the birthday boy’s hair said goodbye to Junhong’s friends. Before heading to the kitchen, he reminded Himchan to text him when he wants to leave. It hasn’t even been fifteen minutes and the bass sounds were already giving Youngjae a headache, but he agreed to help Junhong out at the party.

 

Walking into the kitchen, Youngjae was greeted by a familiar someone. “Youngjae! Junhong said you’d come to help, so can you separate the cups for me please?”

 

Ever since the honey accident from a week ago, Youngjae has more or less been thinking about the still brown haired boy almost all the time. Almost. The other times Youngjae would be wondering if his favorite honey brand changed recipes because the new bottle tastes sweeter than the old one. It also didn’t help that the boy in front of him looked too infuriating good in a black blazer, white v-neck, and matching black pants and shoes.

 

"Yeah sure the blue ones right?" Seeing Daehyun nod at his question, Youngjae grabbed the plastic bags holding the cups and spread them across the table for Daehyun to pour the punch in.

 

The night went by a lot better than Youngjae expected and he became closer the older boy quicker than he did with any of his other friends. Granted it was more-so because of the lack of a Kim Himchan. But after Youngjae apologized for his behavior at the club, he somehow brought up the topic of music, which turned out to be the stimulus for blooming friendship.

 

The only problem for Youngjae was that the entire night he was trying to calm down his rapid heartbeat.

 

When I saw you for the fourth time, I was definite that it was you | 네 번 봤을 땐 너라고 확신했어

Returning from break had always been the hardest for Youngjae. Especially since he pretty much hates everyone in his course. (Yes he is one of those people. Himchan always scolded him for not even trying to get to know his peers, to which Youngjae would reply with “Why would I want to get to know those heads?”) The second factor for his distaste for the return for education is because Youngjae is one of those people that go MIA during the school year.

 

But no, Youngjae doesn’t hate studying. He actually finds it quite calming. He just hates it when Himchan constantly nags him even more for not going out. Every day he has to bear Himchan’s hourly texts to remind him to relax. Sure he once thought it was a kind gesture, but after the second year of knowing the senior, it’s more annoying than thoughtful. Youngjae is sure the sender enjoys the chance to irritate him every waking hour.

 

"I swear one of these days you’re going to step out of your little snake hell hole and go ‘Hiss the sun, it burns,’" Himchan once told him as they were eating lunch before Himchan’s and after Youngjae’s first class. Youngjae ended up grabbing Himchan’s half finished bottle of tea and walked back to his dorm.

 

After his morning class, Youngjae walked towards his music class instead of to the lunchroom like he usually does. The change in route was because he to discuss his professor about his semester project. He usually has this class later in the day because Youngjae likes to end his day doing something he loves.

 

Currently Youngjae is in a predicament because it’s already half-way through the semester and the furthest progress he has is just the first four lines. The project is just a self composed song but Youngjae lacks in something important in this equation called ~creativity~. They are allowed partners but Youngjae would rather not because reason #1 why Yoo Youngjae hates returning to education.

 

Youngjae stood, facing the door because he was stopped by the most heavenly voice coming through the door. He can’t really explain just what the voice sounded like but if he had to, it would be cheesecake: creamy, sweet, and refreshing for the soul.

 

When the singing stopped and Youngjae’s mind returned back from the skies, he knocked on the door and peaked in. “Professor?” Youngjae emailed his lecturer beforehand so the teacher was already expecting him.

 

"Come in Youngjae." Once the man before him intimidated Youngjae, but he eventually got over it and grew a strong respected his professor. "This is Daehyun from my morning class, he’s also having problems with his project. Daehyun, Youngjae was the student I was talking about. I think you two get why you’re both here?"

 

"Uhhhhhh." Youngjae oh-so-intelligently droned as he fiddled with his fingers.

 

"You want us to partner up right?" Daehyun slung his arm over Youngjae and did that thing with his face again that made Youngjae’s heart sound like a thousand horses rampaging in his chest.

 

The professor paid no attention to their sudden closeness and nodded. “Do either of you have a problem with that?”

 

Youngjae shook his head, “No sir.” Both Youngjae and Daehyun bowed before leaving their professor’s office.

 

"Want to grab some food and talk about our project?" Youngjae suggested as they walked out of the music building, side-by-side, Daehyun’s arm still around Youngjae’s shoulders, not that the boy minded. Youngjae just really, really,reaaaaallly hoped that Daehyun didn’t notice how red his cheeks were (Daehyun did and tried to contain his itching hand that wanted to pinch the cherry-colored cheeks).

"Absolutely." And this time, there was just something about Daehyun’s smile had that made it different from before, this time it was the one…. the one that made Youngjae start to fall.