“You’re doing the thing again.” Hyukjae snapped his head up to look at his friend and coworker, Junsu. They were on their break and sitting in the employee lounge. Hyukjae was sitting on the barstool and swinging his legs back and forth. “Doing what again?” Junsu crinkled his nose and laughed. “You’re staring at your phone as if it’s going to break.” Hyukjae blinked and then giggled. It was true; he was forever glued to his phone. Ever since Donghae and he had started having “study dates,” they’ve been nearly inseparable. If Donghae wasn’t at school or Hyukjae wasn’t at work, they were together hanging out and having a blast.

“I didn’t think I was being so obvious about it… I don’t really know what it is! I’m just happy all of a sudden, you know?” He swiveled around to face Junsu full on. “Have you ever had a person make you feel that way? So happy and full of hope?” He stared at his hands as if they held the words he was looking for. “It’s like a volcano, erupting inside of me! I don’t even know what that sort of feeling is called!” Hyukjae looked back at Junsu with desperate eyes and asked “What’s that feeling called, Junsu? What is it?”

Junsu clapped a hand on Hyukjae’s back and sighed. “It’s called ‘an .’ Either that or malaria!” His years of playing soccer helped him move out of the way of Hyukjae’s fists of fury. “Don’t worry, Hyuk! They’ve got shots for everything now!” He laughed at his friend’s flustered expression. “Oh come on, I was just teasing!” Junsu started poking Hyukjae in order to get him to cheer up. His laughter was infectious and, luckily for Junsu, Hyukjae was very ticklish.

They stopped laughing long enough for Junsu to be able to talk. “So, who’s the lucky girl?” Hyukjae’s breath hitched. He never thought to tell Junsu about Donghae; he considered it a secret part of him. Hyukjae wasn’t ashamed of being biual but he never knew who would react badly to his orientation. It seemed as if he hesitated a half a second too long before Junsu put both of his hands up. “Hey man, I was just asking. If you’re not comfortable sharing, that’s cool with me.” Hyukjae gave a small chuckle and stared down at his feet. “It’s not that… It’s just that…” He thought about the right words to say. “Well… it’s not a girl.”

Junsu’s eyebrows shot up and he began to stammer. “Hey! Well, I mean to each his own. I’m not gay but if that’s what makes you happy. I have no problem with gay guys.” Maybe it was Hyukjae’s paranoia about confessing, but he could have sworn that Junsu moved back a foot or two.

            “That’s the thing, haha. I’m not gay.” Junsu scrunched up his face in confusion. “Wait, what do you mean you’re not gay? You just said you liked a guy.” Hyukjae took a deep breathe before speaking again. “Well, yeah. I’m interested in a guy right now. I’m just not gay. I’m biual, Junsu.” At that moment, he regretted saying a word. He could see Junsu’s jaw tensing up and his eyes harden. “What the are you talking about? Biuality isn’t a real thing.”

            Hyukjae felt himself shrink. His stomach was doing flips as Junsu got closer and jabbed his chest with his index finger. “You’re either gay or you’re not. Biuals are nothing but greedy erts who can’t make up their mind. I was totally okay with you being gay but not this, man.” Junsu shoved Hyukjae out of his chair. “You’re ing gross, Hyukjae. Make up your ing mind, then you can chill with me.” He gave Hyukjae a scoff before walking off and going back to work.  

            Hyukjae sat there for a few minutes. His entire body was going numb and he felt the familiar touch of sadness encompass him. He should have been used to people treating him so coldly, but he never expected it from Junsu. They’d been good friends ever since Hyukjae moved to Seoul. He snapped out of his melancholy when his phone began to vibrate. It was a text from Donghae.  

          D: Hey yoooooou~~~~~~~~~~ Sorry I was stuck in class >///< I hope work is going well!!~~~

            He gave a sad smile and decided not to let this bother him so much. He texted Donghae back before getting back to work. When he got home that night, he told Donghae that he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to try to go to bed early. Junsu’s words kept ringing in his ears and made his head feel like lead. There were a million thoughts running through his mind. The strongest one was:‘If only I could just turn off everything and just fall asleep….’

A/n I'm sorry for not updating sooner!! I decided to do the unexpected and make Junsu a bit biphobic. What do you all think?~ -Naty