15. Book - Chaejin/Insoo; PG; 1963 words.

Looking around at all the shelves of books around him Jinseok sighed, this was his last stop looking for a gift for Insoo. He had been looking for one all day but he still hadn’t found that one special and perfect gift for his boyfriend yet. And that was how he ended up in a bookstore that, by the looks he was getting, was almost close to closing time.

But, as he walked by aisles and looked at all the titles on the shelves, he couldn’t help but think that maybe this was the best place to look – maybe not the time or date since he was slightly late with looking for it as their anniversary is on the next day, but he should have thought about bookstores way earlier.

Books – and libraries if he was to be honest – were a big part of their relationship, and how they even got to meet each other and build their relationship. It all started back in high school with their too many encounters on the library and ruckus they caused once in there at the same time.

The first time they met (and the day he almost caused a heart attack on himself and his friends) was a quite tense day to all of Jinseok’s class, they were just told that the teacher changed a test day that was supposed to be the next month to the next day, so most part of the class ended up going to the library to study, and everyone was quite focused. That’s it, until Insoo – not that Jinseok knew the other’s name at that moment – and his group of friends showed up around and started causing quite a ruckus. Not that they meant it, but it just happened that it was the silent floor and since everyone was so focused and quiet, that all their talk sounded quite loud  to everyone in that. All his classmates were trying to ignore it, Jinseok himself tried to, but it was getting harder and harder to focus with all the cheery conversation going on, so he ended up snapping and going to confront the group.

He, of course, apologized for it later when they became friends, it wasn’t something that happened a lot – or at all – of him really losing like that day of going to their table and telling them to shut it or leave, he was a shy and quiet kid most of the time, but everyone was on edge and it actually kind of felt good to let out his pent up energy at the moment he did. He felt awful later, but at the moment he felt nice and after a quite weak glare at the “troublesome” table he went back to his and tried to get back to studying.

In the end, he felt so bad at night that he didn’t really did that well on the test on the other day. But neither did many people, so he didn’t feel that bad about his grade.

They kept meeting in the library after that, but Jinseok’s shyness didn’t really let him go and apologize no matter how he really was trying to, and Insoo didn’t really look approachable whenever he saw him too so he never got the courage to talk to him. Until their second “official” meet up. Jinseok was doing a favor for Seyong, one of his oldest and older friends, and looking for a book for him while he was in drama or dance class - he actually stopped listening after Seyong said about buying him food if he did that favor to him, so he really didn’t know or care where the older was – for one of his normal classes, and he was so focused on looking for it that he didn’t even notice that when he finally found it and went to take it, someone’s hand was there as well to pick the same book. Jinseok only noticed Insoo (he still didn’t  actually know his name, no he knew, his friends having told him some times, but he always forgot it) was on his side, too close for comfort actually, when the hand pulled at the book at the same time as him.

Blinking up at the guy he tried to pull it closer to him, not wanting to have to deal with Seyong pouting and whining at him not doing him the favor, and Insoo pulled harder closer to him, and that tug game kept happening for a while until said Seyong showed up and beamed at both for their job at finding the book. As it was, the older had actually asked both to pick it up and both were trying to fulfill the promise to him – later both would learn and laugh that both tried to hard to get the book from each other for the same reason too, not wanting to deal with a whiny and pouty Seyong.

After having Seyong “introduce” them, both Jinseok and Insoo were kind of dragged to spend time together by Seyong, the three of them plus some other random people the overly friendly Seyong made friends with, but it was just when they both were, by fate or not, at the same time on the library that they spent time really together and got to meet each other slightly well. Both spent too much time on it, Insoo because his classes demanded it with the number of homework sent his way, as well as his ballet teacher demanding good grades, and Jinseok because he wanted to have good grades for himself and his parents that only asked that of him, and because he was still too shy to keep going out with his friends – when it wasn’t Seyong, that one dragged him whenever he wanted and to where he wanted – so he used studying as a small excuse. It was around this times that Jinseok ended up apologizing for his snap back when they first saw each other, both sharing a table to study together so that no one ended up barging in and ruining the focus, since they learned that both of their friends for some reason left them alone when seeing both together – again, that didn’t count Seyong, nothing never really counts Seyong if Jinseok was to be really honest, and later they discovered it was because actually everyone kind of thought they looked really calm and peaceful together and didn’t want to bother that. And that they looked “cute” together.

They really got closer in their school test week though, both spending all their free time studying on the library dreaming of Friday when they could stop it all, a break week coming right afterwards, it was in one of those days of being busy studying that Insoo ended up having to take Jinseok home after both ended up falling asleep in the library only to be woken up as it was closing and it was too late at night for the responsible Insoo to let the cute Jinseok walk home alone. And it was too late for Jinseok’s mother to let Insoo go back home alone too, so he ended up spending the night in what it was nicknamed Seyong’s room since he was always slept there when around as Jinseok’s mother so  happily explained while showing him the house, happy to meet another friend of her Jinnie. The next day they got endless teasing of Seyong as he went to pick Jinseok up from his house as he did every once on a blue moon, but they were closer, having shared some stories – some without Jinseok’s approve, blame his parents – and kind of just, given that final click on that small friendship that was growing from the moment they tried to steal the books from each other for their mutual friend.

Time passed and the friendship stayed strong, growing, even after Insoo went to college and Jinseok stayed on high school. Both ended up going to the same college anyways, not the same major as Jinseok was more of a artsy with paints and brushes and the other more with his body in form of dance, but they stayed in touch always and talked frequently. When not in class they ended up spending so much time together when they could that they were frequently confused by a couple, and cheered on as one by many of their friends from high school – let’s not forget Seyong, their number fanboy and shipper since he started noticing they started to get closer. At that time, and even earlier, Jinseok knew that he had some feelings for Insoo, but just as he noticed them, he went back to that “never getting the courage to talk about it” like when it was about apologizing.

It was Jinseok that talked about it first, he was getting tired of kind of pinning after the older without really knowing if the other liked him or if he got a shot, so he just kind of snapped of his shyness one day and asked the other out, and then kind of escaped while the other was on shock because his shyness quickly lodged itself back on him just as he finished asking. They ended up going on the date, and one turned into more and soon they were really going out. And then when they finally told the rest of their friends, that didn’t really suspect anything since they were just hanging out like they normally did, the touchy and corny moments being kept for when they were alone, everyone was happy for them, besides Seyong that was happy and smug since “he was the one that introduced them to each other, I’m your guys fairy godmot-father! Father I said father shut up Junkyu!”.

‘Time flies’ Jinseok thought thinking about their past, looking around still for a book for Insoo, it was hard to pick just one, the older actually loving books more them himself and both were quite bookworms for two arts and dance majors, and he had so many that he never knew if he was buying one that the other already had. Sighing softly and deciding to give one more look around before he was kicked out, Jinseok focused on the books once more after the trip to memory lane and finally after a couple of minutes found one that kind of looked like a good one with a nice plot, and just as he was going to go pay, already imagining the relief of the workers wanting to go home soon and not wanting to kick someone out, a small book hiding behind the chosen one called his attention, something seeming too familiar for him.

Picking it up Jinseok bit his lips to stop the loud laugh that wanted to escape him, choosing to just snicker and shake his head.

‘As if we weren’t cliché enough…’ He though, holding both books and going to the cashier to pay for it, asking for both to be on wrapped up separately.

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Once back to the dorm Jinseok hid both gifts and laid down on the bed, wanting to sleep but too pumped to do it, the grin he got once finding the same book he and Insoo fought for  in the library at the bookstore still on his face, and having no plans to leave as he kept glancing back to where he put both books. Jinseok really couldn’t wait to see Insoo’s face when seeing it, if he even remembered about it, but they were as another thing, so he probably did so he really couldn’t wait for it.

Closing his eyes he sighed and tried to make himself sleep, the next day couldn’t come faster, and it was already night.