Final

Youngjae didn’t really like Himchan. He talked too much, and often at precisely the wrong moments, like in the middle of a film or right when Youngjae was about to win a boss fight, only to get distracted and beaten. Plus, his ego was far too big for Youngjae’s tastes and he seemed to be constantly fishing for compliments.

If it weren’t for the fact that he got on so well with Yongguk, Himchan’s closest friend, Youngjae didn’t think he’d ever willingly hang out with the other boy.

For some weird reason, though, Himchan seemed to like him. It didn’t matter how many times he brushed him off, Himchan would still come up and speak to him like they were, in fact, friends, and he’d smile and wave at him whenever they passed each other in the hallways.

He had complained about this fact to Jongup, who had only shrugged and said Himchan was actually really nice and that he should give him a chance. “He’s not at all how you think he is,” Jongup had claimed, but the next time Youngjae saw Himchan he was with a girl and bragging about all the instruments he could play, which only reinforced his opinion.

Right now he was in the library, surrounded by dictionaries. He had recently started taking Japanese and one of their assignments was a short translation, which turned out to be more difficult than he had hoped. Although the professor had told them she didn’t expect them to be able to translate the kanji flawlessly, Youngjae was determined to do his best.

“Ah, this should be ‘skilled’. It’s an adjective here, and ‘the upper part of the person’ doesn’t have the same ring to it anyway.”

Youngjae pursed his lips in annoyance when a long finger pointed out his mistake, Himchan’s gravelly voice interrupting his concentration. He lifted his head, his frustration with the other only growing further when he saw the relaxed smile on Himchan’s face, like he hadn’t just offered his unsolicited advice.

The girl from the other day was beside him, though she excused herself soon enough and told Himchan she’d see him Tuesday, nodding at Youngjae politely before she left.

“Shouldn’t you go after your girlfriend?” Youngjae asked shortly, frowning down at his homework when he realised Himchan had been right with his suggestion.

Himchan chuckled and pulled out a chair to join Youngjae at his table. “Jieun is not my girlfriend. She asked me for some help with a project for one of her music classes. It’s a mixture of modern and traditional, and apparently there aren’t many students here who can play traditional instruments, so she asked me if I could.”

Well. That explained their conversation, then. Youngjae covered his homework when Himchan tried to look at it again. “So why are you in the library?”

“She needed books for background information.” Himchan raised his eyebrows, seeming both amused and confused at Youngjae’s questions. “And then I saw you and recognised that text from last year, so I thought I’d help you out. It’s not that easy for a first assignment.”

That was certainly true enough. He could already tell that kanji would soon become the bane of his existence.

Youngjae turned towards Himchan then and, for the first time, really looked at him. Begrudgingly, he had to admit the other was quite attractive, though he’d never say it out loud. For some reason Himchan was wearing blue contacts, which went well with his bleached hair, and the overall picture reminded him of a character he had seen in an anime once.

Himchan noticed where he was looking and blinked hesitantly. “I got them as a joke, but figured I might as well use them. Do they look okay?”

And suddenly Youngjae understood what Jongup had meant. Himchan wasn’t asking for confirmation of something he already knew, he was asking because he was genuinely curious, because he was worried that, maybe, he didn’t look okay. Perhaps Youngjae truly had been wrong about him.

He smiled reassuringly and nodded. “They look good. You look good.”

The small, grateful grin Himchan shot him was worth any embarrassment he might have felt at saying those words aloud after all.