Why had leaving Jihoon felt so difficult? Soonyoung realized it when they arrived at Jihoon’s door–after he apologized for the umpteenth time and Jihoon brushed it off with a small laugh and a wave of hands; Soonyoung realized that lying on the grass for a few hours hadn’t been enough to get to know the other boy… Soonyoung realized that he genuinely wanted to get to know Lee Jihoon.

Not only his name or his age; but his favorite color too, his favorite song– why had he chosen such a strange (and lovely, so lovely) hair color? Why did he space out every time Soonyoung wanted to make him know he left him breathless and looked at him in the eye?

He really wanted to brush off those thoughts– why should he care? Soonyoung might be a romantic one; a hopeless, idiotic person that genuinely thought love was real, but he had only known the pink-haired boy for 3 days, and, as much as he believed in love, he couldn’t believe in the fact that 72 hours were enough for someone to feel butterflies in their chest and mouth because of a certain person.

 Soonyoung really thought so– and… who wouldn’t? It was ridiculous to even imagine the blond already having feelings for Jihoon; Soonyoung’s brain screamed at him to not rush things up, to forget the stuttering of his heart and the smile on his face every time he saw Jihoon, but again– since when did Kwon Soonyoung followed his brain?

The blond-haired boy was all about the heart.

And this– this wasn’t going to be an exception.

Soonyoung felt heavy when Jihoon whispered a soft goodbye and turned his doorknob to the right, he didn’t understand how it was even possible to miss someone who was right beside you, and decided that he didn’t like the feeling that came with it as he gently grabbed Jihoon by his wrist to stop him from leaving.

Jihoon froze in his place, only turning his head slightly to look at Soonyoung– a confused frown was playing on his face that Soonyoung had to smile sheepishly at.

The pink-haired boy raised an eyebrow when Soonyoung didn’t say anything, but Soonyoung only smiled wider.

Letting go of his hand made him unreasonably upset– clearing his throat to distract himself from the loss of warmth.

‘’When will I see you again?’’

Oh, –

How many times hadn’t Chan told him to think before he spoke? Soonyoung was afraid that Jihoon thought of him as an eager, needy, person, but he decided to play it cool with a soft smile and a hopeful raise of eyebrows.

Jihoon didn’t blink even once.

‘’I’m not sure…’’ The pink-haired muttered, looking at the floor as if it was going to give him the answers he didn’t know, ‘’I mean– Outside of school…?’’

Soonyoung nodded his head, not even sure if Jihoon had seen the gesture, and patiently stayed quiet until the latter spoke once again.

‘’Are you busy tomorrow?’’

Tomorrow? Soonyoung would’ve winced if he was able, but he kept the smile on his face as he waited for an answer.

Jihoon looked like he would have winced if he could, too, but only raised his eyebrows again and hesitated to speak.

‘’Uh… kind of?’’ His eyes squinted, ‘’I mean– I’m going to…’’ The pink-haired boy was dragging his words more than necessary and it made Soonyoung nervous.

‘’Study. Yeah, I’m going to study with uh, Seungcheol,’’ Jihoon finally answered, ‘’I don’t think you know him though…’’ Jihoon eyed him curiously.

Soonyoung smiled awkwardly– Choi Seungcheol? If he didn’t know him…

‘’Oh, but I do.’’ The blond said, ‘’I dated him– kinda.

‘’Where are you guys meeting up?’’

Jihoon smiled, ‘’At… a coffee shop.’’

The blond raised an eyebrow, weren’t coffee shops usually for couples? He wondered if Seungcheol was interested in Jihoon– was Jihoon interested in Seungcheol?

‘’Do you mind if I join you?’’

Soonyoung cringed at his own words. He wasn’t sure himself of what he was doing at the moment– probably ruining a possible date between Choi Seungcheol and Jihoon… The blond sighed, and patiently waited for a reply.

‘’Oh, but… wouldn’t you feel awkward around him? You know since he’s your ex and everything.’’ Jihoon wondered, tilting his head in an adorable fashion.

Maybe.

‘’Not really,’’ Soonyoung said, nodding at his own words, ‘’We get along just fine.’’

Liar.

Choi Seungcheol would break your nose if he saw you again.

Jihoon nodded back with his head, and awkwardly put his gaze on the floor again.

‘’Um, okay?’’ Jihoon mumbled, ‘’I’ll text you the details.’’

Soonyoung grinned broadly, nodding again to show his excitement.

‘’Great, I know a great place– free drinks and everything.’’

‘’Cool…’’ Jihoon said, drawing a thin line in his lips, ‘’So, uh, bye?’’

Soonyoung couldn’t help but realize the whole moment had been strange as Jihoon closed the door behind him and Soonyoung found himself with nothing but thin air around him.

❀ ❀ ❀

Soonyoung felt surprised when, instead of a fist on his face, he found Seungcheol smiling tightly at him from a table not-so-far from him.

The blond greeted him shyly with his hand, and walked towards him in a slow pace to think about why and what the hell he was supposed to do when Jihoon arrived and realized their relationship wasn’t as good as he had said before.

Not getting along with someone’s friend was such a turn off for some people… Soonyoung sighed, analyzing the crowded coffee shop as he thought of ways to escape if Seungcheol decided to stop being nice to him and started choking him to death, instead.

He was glad there were a lot of people in the place, and his best friend in the back of the shop.

Soonyoung took a deep breath– Jihoon hadn’t arrived yet, and he couldn’t decide if that was a good or a bad thing yet.

In a matter of seconds Soonyoung found himself in front of Seungcheol, who smiled at him in the same way he had done plenty of times before.

Soonyoung cleared his throat as he remembered those times.

‘’Uh… so what’s this thing?’’ Soonyoung asked, standing awkwardly in front of the dirt-blond boy.

Soonyoung hears a sigh and shuffling, and it isn’t until someone on his left talks that he realizes a curly-haired boy is sitting next to his ex-boyfriend; he can’t help but notice he looks different, though – and how much he actually looks like Seungcheol.

The blond’s face stays blank until the curly-haired stranger raises his eyebrows at him, rolls his eyes and exasperatedly sighs.

‘’What? You hadn’t seen a mixed kid before?’’ The unnamed boy said– not only he looked bothered, but his words also were full of annoyance, which Soonyoung honestly didn’t understand the motive of.

Soonyoung stared at the stranger for another moment before frowning, not being able to understand what the other meant with his words.

‘’Are you surprised the thing can talk?’’

The blond raised his eyebrows before smiling sheepishly in realization.

‘’I meant what is the thing on your table,’’ Soonyoung mumbles, embarrassed by the fact his words were misunderstood.

 ‘’You know, the huge book lying in front of you?’’ He said, giving the boy a shy smile before quickly glancing at Seungcheol.

Apparently the stranger felt embarrassed by the fact he misunderstood Soonyoung’s words, too; since his cheeks and ears were as pink as Jihoon’s hair and his stare didn’t reach the blond’s eyes.

‘’Forgive my cousin, Soonyoung,’’ Seungcheol talks for the first time, patting the seat next to him so the blond sits, ‘’He gets defensive easily, and well… I don’t really blame him.’’

Soonyoung sits next to Seungcheol, and shakes his head when he finds himself next to his ex-boyfriend, ‘’I understand, I’m sorry.’’ The blond says, smiling warmly at the apparently-younger boy in the table.

The boy only nods and Seungcheol brushes it off with a small smile.

 ‘’Well if you’re still wondering why there’s a book bigger than Lee Jihoon in our table,’’ Soonyoung’s ears perked up as he heard the pink-haired boy’s name, and pays double attention to Seungcheol’s words, ‘’Is because my baby cousin Hansol here is a genius that’s going to UNI in a few months from now.’’

Soonyoung raised his eyebrows impressed, Seungcheol’s cousin– Hansol, looked way younger than them, but he was going to UNI already?

‘’How old are you?’’

Hansol smiles shyly again, ‘’I am 16 years old...’’

‘’Oh, so you’re 1 years older than my brother–

Soonyoung freezes in his place as he thinks of Chan, and not-so-discreetly looks at Hansol with an idea in his mind.

‘’Please tutor him!’’

Soonyoung’s eyes are wide open and he has a smile on his face when he mutters those words, creeping Hansol out in the process.

‘’… What?’’

‘’You should… tutor my brother. I mean, if you can,’’ Soonyoung breathes out, ‘’He’s… been having problems with school lately, and– I mean, you can right?’’

Hansol hesitantly looks at Seungcheol, who looks back at him and nods with his head.

‘’I guess so? Maybe–

‘’Thank you so much!’’ Soonyoung interrupts, making Hansol jump a little when he yells, ‘’Oh, I’m Soonyoung, by the way.

‘’Kwon Soonyoung.’’ Soonyoung smiled at Hansol but turned almost instantly to his left when he heard a raspy voice next to him.

Jihoon.

Soonyoung just can’t understand why Lee Jihoon is able to look so good in everything – why is Jihoon able to take his breath away even when he’s just standing there, smiling like that, being just so… perfect? Soonyoung smiled, saying hello back to him and moving to his side so Jihoon is able to sit next to him.

‘’Jihoon, here!’’ Seungcheol softly says, making space between him and Hansol so Jihoon is able to fit between the two of them.

Soonyoung definitely doesn’t huff when Jihoon smiles at Seungcheol broadly and sits next to him.

He totally doesn’t.