Ayyyy! It's me! Heh... heh heh... Yes, I know I am trash. Blame school, it's hard and v time consuming :/ Anyways, here's the next chapter! Thanks SO much to all the new subscribers! I would reeeeeeeeeally appreciate comments... they motivate me to write faster :D I hope you enjoy the new chapter

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The next morning, the buzzing of his phone awakens Jinwoo. Groaning, he rolls over and picks it up off the nightstand to find a new message in the group chat.

Jo Kwon:

Hellooooo~ lovelies! Meet me at the café for some cronutssssss ♥︎

Lee Jieun:

Can we meet in an hour?

Jo Kwon:

Sure bb

He sits up immediately, realizing that those texts were sent thirty minutes ago. “Damn!” he cries, scrambling out of bed and rushing to his closet to figure out what he’s going to wear. After several harried minutes, he settles on a black and white striped sweater with a simple pair of jeans. Jinwoo quickly jumps into the shower, taking longer than he anticipated, which causes him to start running behind. He’s in the middle of styling his hair when there’s a knock on his door. “Just a minute!” he yells, finishing combing his hair and wiping his hands before opening the door.

“Good morning!” Jieun chirps. So she’s a morning person, he thinks.

“Good morning,” he returns quietly, smiling a little. “You look pretty.” She’s wearing a blue sundress and has her hair braided into one thick braid resting over her shoulder.

Her smile brightens. “Thank you! You look super cute, oppa.”

“Do I? I just threw this on. Do you want to come in?” He steps back, motioning for her to enter. She nods and glides in, looking around with a pleasant smile on her face.

“Nice setup. I love all the color!”

He walks over to his dresser to spray a little cologne on. “Thanks! I originally just wanted a ‘pop’ of color, but then I got carried away and just ended up getting furniture in the entire rainbow.” She giggles, and he turns to her after fidgeting with his earrings in the mirror. “Shall we go, then?”

“Yeah… Jo Kwon is probably already there and pouting because we’re a little late.” She sighs. “I just hope he isn’t in the mood to cause a scene about it today.”

Jinwoo gulps, knowing that the older boy is scary when angered. They hurry out of the dorm and into the chilly weather. He only shivers a little, but Jieun is freezing, rubbing her arms and chattering her teeth a little.

“Stupid me,” she mumbles. “I didn’t check the weather before I got dressed…”

Worried, Jinwoo starts to slow down. “Do you want to go back and get a jacket or something?”

“No, I’m—“

“It’s okay, I’ll go grab one of mine!” He cuts her off, running back inside the dorm and leaving her shivering outside, speechless. A couple minutes later, he comes running back outside, wheezing with one of his jackets in hand.

She stares at him, a little concerned. “Oppa… you alright over there?”

“I’m… fine…!” he whispers breathlessly, bent over with one arm outstretched. “Take… the jacket…” Jinwoo really didn’t have far to run since he just took the elevator, so his lack of fitness is very obvious at the moment.

She smiles, gladly pulling it on. “You’re so sweet, oppa. You didn’t have to.”

“I know.” He straightens up, taking one last big breath before power walking down the sidewalk.

“Um, what are you doing?”

“Hurrying!” he calls back. “I don’t want Jo Kwon mad at me! You can take it easy if you want!”

She laughs, jogging a little to catch up. “Oppa! Don’t leave me! I thought you were a gentleman! And you should be the one taking it easy. You’re so out of shape!”

“Hey!!” Jieun just laughs, speed walking right past him. “You complain and then leave me in the dust!” he whines. They race to see who can walk there the fastest, but she beats him by far—she had already sat through Jo Kwon’s tantrum about their lateness by the time Jinwoo arrived, worse for the wear.

“Oppa, let’s work out together soon,” she gloats, looking at him smugly. He just glares half-heartedly, pinching one of his baby stomach rolls before deciding that it actually wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“Yeah, yeah…” he mumbles, plopping down next to her in the booth. He closes his eyes and leans his head back on the seat, trying to catch his breath. Several moments go by before he realizes it’s silent and opens his eyes to see Jo Kwon glaring at him suspiciously.

He sweats. “Y-Yes, hyung?” Am I gonna get lectured too? he worries inwardly.

“You dirty liar! You are totally after JiJi!”

“What?” the youngest two chorus, confused.

He points an accusatory finger at the jacket resting on Jieun’s shoulders. “That’s yours, right? You gave that to her to wear, right? Suspicious!!” he screeches, drawing attention from sleepy college students.

“Calm your , JoJo. He gave this to me because it’s cold out and I’m stupid? Hellooo! Jeez. Not every man is out to get in my pants!” Jieun rolls her eyes.

“That’s what you think,” Jo Kwon mumbles. She narrows his eyes at him, and he sighs dramatically. “Okayyyy, fiiiiine. Let’s just order already!” He gets up and stomps over to the counter to stare down the barista.

Jinwoo gulps. “Don’t worry,” she reassures. “He wasn’t serious. He’ll be over it by the time he comes back.”

“Good,” he sighs, relieved. After Jo Kwon comes back, she and Jinwoo go up to order their own food. They talk amiably over coffee and cronuts—“Make sure you get the cronuts!” Jo Kwon had yelled at them when they went up to the counter—about their majors and classes.

“Ohhhh, you’re a fashion major~!” Jo Kwon coos. “What do you want to do with that?”

Jinwoo shrugs. “I don’t know… I just know that I want to be in that field. I love to design clothes, but I’m awful at sewing. It’s a serious struggle.” Jo Kwon makes a sympathetic face.

“That’s really cool though, oppa,” Jieun says. “I was interested in that a little too, but I decided on literature.”

“Really? So you like, write stories and stuff?”

“Mm. But I mostly like to write poetry—“

“She means songs,” Jo Kwon interjects. “She writes songs all the time in her songbook, and she’s got a phenomenal set of pipes.”

Jinwoo’s eyes widen. “You can sing?”

She blushes. “Well… I mean, I like to do it a lot, so—“

“Stop being modest. You know I’ll just brag about you anyway. She’s got the prettiest singing voice I’ve ever heard.” The oldest sighs happily. “You must get her to do it for you sometime.”

Jieun sighs and Jinwoo nods before turning his attention to him. “So what’s your major, hyung?”

He takes a sip of his coffee before slamming down the mug and striking a dramatic pose. “Dance!” he cries before doing jazz hands.

“Showing us the ol’ razzle dazzle, eh?” Jieun says, smirking.

Jo Kwon makes a face. “This is not Tumblr, darling. No.” She just snorts in laughter.

“What kind of dance do you do?” Jinwoo asks.

“I do it all. Hip-hop, contemporary, jazz… you name it!”

“…Even disco?”

The dancer gasps. “Especially disco, love!”

Jinwoo laughs. “That’s great. You have to teach me sometime.”

Jo Kwon squeals. “YAY! Oh my god, Jieun won’t ever let me teach her anything! I will teach you EVERYTHING, mon petit protégé! You will carry on my legacy!” He was getting so carried away, Jinwoo was afraid the guy might cry. Thankfully, Jieun ruined the moment by asking him to let her out to use the bathroom. As she walked away, Jinwoo sat down and turned to the other.

“Jieun-ah is so innocent and flowery, just like me,” he coos admirably.

Jo Kwon snorts. “First of all, HAHA! I call bull. You most certainly are not innocent.”

“Wha—“

“You’re the quiet type, which most definitely means you’re a freak.”

“What?!” He was beyond embarrassed.

“Don’t try to act like you’re not either, you lil’ nasty.” He smirks suggestively and Jinwoo slides all the way down in his seat, beet red. “And second, triple HAHA! JiJi is weird as .”

At this, Jinwoo sits up, curious. “Weird? Her?”

“Yeah. She reads the dirtiest online. I once made the mistake of looking at what she was reading so intensely one night and just about gagged.”

He nearly spits out his drink, he starts laughing so hard. Jo Kwon just sits there buttering his cronut, shaking his head and saying, “It’s true,” with a shrug of his shoulders.

“She’s hardcore into ty and yuri and all that . So weird.” Jinwoo calms down then, blushing because he may or may not read fan fiction at night as a bedtime story. Jieun starts walking back, and Jo Kwon whispers to him hurriedly. “I didn’t say , you hear? But you know better now!” When she sits back down, Jinwoo knows he’ll never look at her the same again.

They finish their food and drinks and get up to leave. “You guys wanna head back to my place?”

“’Kay,” Jieun says, stretching. Jinwoo agrees as well, and they’re off, Jo Kwon tossing his scarf over his shoulder and adjusting his sunglasses. He wedges himself in-between the younger two and links arms with them, both rolling their eyes at his antics. He just smiles sweetly and struts on, tugging them along.

Jinwoo opens his mouth to say something when he sees Baekhyun and Suzy sitting on a bench. He gulps and shrinks in on himself a little, hoping they don’t notice them. They’re busy tapping away on their phones, so he begins to think they’re in the clear, but then Suzy looks up and spots them. She nudges Baekhyun, and he looks up as well, smirking when he sees them.

“Well well,” he calls. “Good morning!” He smiles widely.

Jo Kwon keeps walking, dragging the other two with him. “Save it, you fake ,” he says coolly.

Baekhyun pretends to be offended, though he is irked that they didn’t even stop to pay attention to him. “So rude, Jo Kwon! You have some nerve being like that when you’re dressed the way you are. Your outfits give me gas.”

“Your face gives me gas,” Jo Kwon replies, laughing as his two companions unintentionally chortle. “You are so jealous! You know we look good! You can’t even admit the truth, you’re such a hater!”

Baekhyun frowns as they begin to pass him by. “Hang on—“

“Shut up, a , eat some cake, whatever makes you happy. It is too early for your , boo boo. Byeeeeee!” Jo Kwon calls cheerfully as they leave them behind. Bacon pouts and sits back down, Suzy trying to console him from the burns he just received.

The trio had been walking for some time before Jo Kwon noticed his friends looking at him, grinning. “What? I hate my haters, obviously.” He ignores them and keeps walking. The other two just shake their heads. “Like I said, they can’t mess with us. We’re JJJ. J-Cubed. Triple J.”

“Wha?” Jinwoo says, confused.

“Our names,” Jieun explains. Jinwoo just stares at her blankly before she sighs. “Jo, Jieun, Jinwoo?”

He stares at her a little more before his face lights up in understanding. “Oh!” He giggles, embarrassed.

Jo Kwon shakes his head. “Ay-yah-yah, you’re a slow one.”

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Later, they’re all in the middle of watching some cheesy movie about a girl who goes to Japan and starts learning how to make ramen when Jinwoo’s stomach growls. Loudly. His friends turn to look at him owlishly and he shrinks into his spot on the futon. They all start laughing, Jo Kwon pausing the movie after they calmed down.

“I guess it is lunchtime now. The Ramen Girl can wait.” He stretches before rubbing his own stomach. “What do we want, babes?”

“What was that place in the lobby?” Jieun asks. “It looked like it had decent food.”

“Oh yeah!” he exclaimed, sitting up. “That little convenience store! Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. They have a lot of stuff.”

“Good. So one of us will go down and get food for us all.” Jieun and Jo Kwon turn to look at Jinwoo expectantly. He makes a face at them before groaning dramatically and sliding off the futon.

“Fine,” he grumbled.

“Thanks, you’re a doll,” Jo Kwon grins, blowing him a kiss.

Jieun laughs and leans down to kiss him on the cheek. “Get up. Stop being so dramatic and feed us!” Jinwoo just whines. When she starts tickling him with her toes, he scrambles up to the door.

“Wh-what do you want?” he rushes out, flustered.

“Pudding!” Jieun cheers.

“Get me a veggie wrap and some plain chips if they have that,” the oldest replies. “If not, call me.”

Jinwoo gives them a thumbs up. “Roger.” He salutes them and shuts the door behind him as he walks to the elevator. He hits the button for the lobby, humming happily. I’m so glad I met them, he thinks contently. I already feel like we’ve been friends forever. He exits the elevator, swinging his arms and walking about five steps before realizing he has no idea where the convenience store is. There are no signs to point him in the right direction because normal people would have no trouble finding it; Jinwoo, however, is not normal.

Shoulders slumped, he reaches for his pocket to take out his phone and call Jo Kwon. He removes his hand to find dryer lint. Dammit…! I forgot my phone… He lets out a quiet whimper, looking around hopelessly before resigning himself to the fact that he’s lost. He didn’t want to just go back to Jo Kwon’s room empty-handed because he knew they’d laugh at him, and he didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. Jinwoo was an adult. He could find his way.

…Or so he thought. He spent about fifteen minutes wandering aimlessly before realizing he’d gotten completely lost and didn’t even know how to get back to the elevator. He wanted to cry. I’m so lost.

He sighs, turning around to try and retrace his steps (even though he forgot where he even came from). He’s looking at the ground as he walks, so he obliviously walks right into a stranger, bumping his head on the victim’s chest.

“Oop!” He looks up at the boy he’d almost bowled over, an apology already on his lips. “Excuse me!” he nearly stammers out in English, his voice cracking on the word “me” as he notices how good looking the stranger is.

He’s tall, towering over Jinwoo a little, with pale skin and slender figure, similar to Baekhyun (but not). His features are soft, but his jawline is sharp. Jinwoo found himself staring into dark eyes, almost hidden by slightly curly hair, wet from a shower, most likely. He felt himself begin to blush so he looked away to the side.

The boy smiled at him, almost smirking, before replying, “That’s okay,” in a heavy accent and a deep voice.

. I literally just ran into trouble.

“Are you okay?” The stranger speaking again snaps him out of his thoughts. He looks back up at him to see a slightly concerned look on his face. “Are you lost?” he joked, chuckling a little. He stops when Jinwoo looks away sheepishly. “Wait, you really are lost?”

Jinwoo hangs his head, embarrassed that his ditziness is on full display for a hot guy he didn’t even know. “I don’t live here and I was trying to find the convenience store and I just…” he trails off, sighing.

The stranger scratches his head, amazed that this kind of person really exists. “Alright. Um… do… you want me to show you?”

“Yes please!” Jinwoo looked up excitedly, nodding his head.

The boy chuckles, turning in the opposite direction. “Okay, follow me.”

They walk in silence for a few moments before Jinwoo starts to feel bad. “Sorry…” he apologizes quietly. “I didn’t mean to be trouble…”

“Nah, you are fine,” the boy reassures. “I’m Nathan, by the way.”

Nathan? Jinwoo starts, surprised. I guess he’s American, then… “I’m Jinwoo,” he responds, smiling a little.

“Your accent…” Nathan mutters, trailing off in thought. Jinwoo is incredulous, the smile wiped right off his face. You have no room to talk! Your accent is thicker than mine, stupid! “Where are you from?”

“Korea,” he replies, trying to keep his tone pleasant.

“Korea?” Nathan repeats excitedly. “So you speak Korean, then??” he continues in said language.

“Yes…” Jinwoo replies warily.

“Sorry,” he apologizes, still smiling and speaking Korean. “I just… haven’t met anyone else Korean yet. It’s kind of hard speaking in English all the time.” Jinwoo’s gaze turns sympathetic, understanding what he means.

“Nathan’s my English name. My real name is Seungyoon.”

“Okay… Seungyoon-ssi.” A few moments pass, and then Jinwoo’s face begins to heat up again. He nearly facepalms—he even finds this guy’s name attractive! Thankfully, he’s walking a little behind him so he can’t see.

They arrive at the convenience store and Jinwoo finds that all he had to do was turn the corner. He really does facepalm this time. Meanwhile, Seungyoon has a -eating grin on his face. “Oh, shut up,” Jinwoo snips, walking around and looking for the food his friends requested. Luckily, he finds everything and gets a tuna sandwich for himself. After he pays, he turns around to thank Seungyoon, albeit reluctantly—he found him annoying (although he’s really just annoyed at himself for getting a crush on him so quickly).

“Thanks,” Jinwoo says.

“No problem.” Seungyoon has that grin on his face that’s quickly becoming the thing that annoys Jinwoo most. I want to smack him, he thinks calmly. He blissfully imagines the satisfaction that might bring him, but refrains from doing so because he’s not rude. They stand there awkwardly for a few moments, Jinwoo growing uncomfortable under his gaze. What does that look mean?? Argh, he’s so aggravating and I’ve only known him for ten minutes!

“Well, I’ll be going now,” he says nervously, bowing and trying to hustle to the elevator. Seungyoon just trails after him.

“Wait up,” he calls, and Jinwoo sighs quietly as he slows down. “I’ll take the elevator with you. I’m going back up to my room.”

Jinwoo shifts his eyes from side to side. “Okay…” He didn’t really care. He wanted him to go away before Jinwoo shamelessly threw himself at him.

Finally, the elevator arrived and the pair stepped in. The difference between their body language was telling—Seungyoon leaned against the wall casually and grinned down at the other boy while he hurriedly pressed the button to go back to Jo Kwon’s floor and stood ramrod straight, eyes ahead. Jinwoo remembered too late that the elevator was slow and inwardly cursed.

As the elevator began its slow crawl up to his desired floor, Jinwoo felt Seungyoon’s gaze on him. “Hey, you…” he said shakily. Damn! “Why are you staring at me? That’s rude.”

Seungyoon’s eyes widen a little. “’Hey, you?’ I’d say that’s what’s rude. And after I kindly showed you the way to the store. How do you know I’m not older than you?”

Jinwoo huffed and finally looked at him, visibly annoyed. A quick comparison of birthdays determined that Jinwoo was definitely older. He grinned up at him smugly while the younger his teeth and looked away. Jinwoo went back to staring ahead. “You still didn’t answer why you were staring at me. Rude little thing.”

He twitched at the word “little,” but otherwise resumed his gloating expression. “Because you’re cute.”

Wh—! Jinwoo’s jaw dropped. He turned and looked at him, who calmly just smirked back in his face, proud of himself. Now I know you’re trouble! Who just outright says that?? Playboys, that’s who! He closes his mouth and tries to look unaffected, but he knows it’s too late when he realizes his face is burning. Seungyoon laughs at him, and he resolves to just ignore him.

Then he noticed something else. “Why didn’t you put your floor in?”

“I’m escorting you back. So you don’t get lost again? I’m just nice like that.” Jinwoo doesn’t dare glance back at him because he just knows the self-satisfaction on the younger’s face has intensified.

“I’m not talking to you anymore,” he grumbles, fed up. He can’t wait to get out of this elevator. Seungyoon just snickers. When the doors finally slide open, he speed walks out and toward Jo Kwon’s room immediately, eager to get away from the attractive yet annoying boy. Upon reaching the room, he raps his knuckles on the door, waiting impatiently for it to open.

“I don’t get a thank you?” Seungyoon asks, making a face that made Jinwoo want to die, it was so cute.

“I already said thank you,” the shorter boy snaps unintentionally.

“Oh, feisty.” He raises his eyebrows. “Well maybe I like hearing you say it.”

He nearly threw out his default retort that he used with his friends back in Korea, but he realized saying “Eat my ” to a stranger was probably not a good plan, so he settled for, “Bite me.”

“Can I?”

“WHAT?” He means to kill me!

“Nothing.”

“Who raised you to be so bold?!”

“Wolves.”

“Open the damn door!” he cried desperately, accidentally cursing out loud.

“Still no thank you…”

Jinwoo whirled around to face him again. “Thank you, Nathan,” he hissed.

Seungyoon frowns. “I told you to call me Seungyoon.”

“I do what I want.” Twerp.

He sticks out his bottom lip. I hate this boy, Jinwoo thinks sincerely. He’s too much. Why is it that he’s so annoying yet I want to jump on him and tell him to kiss me??

Before Seungyoon can say anything else, the door flies open to reveal a bug-eyed Jo Kwon. “Where did you go?? To the ing moon?!” Jo Kwon squawks before throwing his arms around Jinwoo’s waist and hugging him tightly.

“Sorry,” comes his muffled reply.

Jo Kwon pulls away and stares at him some more as Jieun comes to the door as well, eating an apple. “Did you get lost, babe?" he frets. "Why did it take you so long??”

“I got lost,” he admits sheepishly, hanging his head.

“Oh…” the older trails off, speechless. Jieun peers out from behind him, noticing Seungyoon standing there awkwardly. “Hello,” she calls.

“Uh, hi,” he says, staring at Jinwoo, who had forgotten his presence, and Jo Kwon, who hadn’t even noticed. At hearing his voice, Jinwoo turned to him, warily thanking him again.

“It’s fine… See you around, I guess.” Seungyoon bowed and walked away. Jinwoo cocked his head, confused; the younger’s demeanor had totally changed.

He didn’t have much more time to think about it because Jo Kwon yanked him inside. “I’m starving. Gimme,” he whined, pawing at the plastic bag from the convenience store. They all sat down on the futon to eat, but Jo Kwon paused before he began.

“Who was that boy?” he asks, curious.

“Eh? Oh, he, um… helped me find the store.”

“Oh, okay…” He clearly didn’t believe that was all, as he continued to stare at Jinwoo with a small smirk on his face.

The latter tried to ignore him and eat his sandwich, but he couldn’t take the pressure anymore after a minute of silence—well, it was silent aside from Jieun slowly ripping open her pudding as she stared at him, too.

He wanted to cry. “I like him~!” he wailed through a mouthful of tuna. He did not want this; this wasn’t what he signed up for. 'No boys,' he’d promised, but he just couldn’t help himself after five freaking minutes. It’s not Jinwoo’s fault that Seungyoon’s so good looking—it’s not his fault that despite how utterly annoying he is, there’s something about him that draws Jinwoo to him. He didn’t want this…

Jinwoo sighs, setting down his sandwich as Jo Kwon and Jieun hug him, awing and cooing as if liking a boy was a happy occasion. But who was he to say it wasn’t? He was getting ahead of himself; it’s okay for him to think a guy is cute. He’s not in love or anything... he’s not ready for that after the damage his ex did. He smiles a little at the teasing from his friends. Besides, it’s not like he’ll see him again, right?