Lovesick: a side-story
Title: Lovesick: a side-story
Pairing: Jongdae/Minseok
Rating: PG-13
Genre: romance, humor, au
Summary: A side-story for Lovesick.
--
Jongdae drops his textbooks on the lunch table, sighing as he slides into the seat next to his boisterous friends.
"What's up with you? You've been gloomy since the beginning of the semester," Yixing, an exchange student from China, says with a distinct accent.
"Maybe he got rejected," Sehun laughs and Jongdae sinks further into the seat. Sehun immediately sobers up and leans over the table. "You did?"
"No way," Jongdae mutters in annoyance. No way because he never asked him out and they never officially confessed. (It's not like there was anything to confess about anyway.) "The girls here are boring. That's why."
"Uh huh," Jonghyun says, tone in fake suspicion, "right. Okay. If you haven't noticed, there are fascinating girls everywhere--"
"Wait, hold up," Yifan butts in, chopsticks pointing rudely at Jonghyun, "did you just call the girls fascinating? Well, isn't that the first."
"Don't use your sarcasm on me, Mr. I'm-from-Bankooba," Jonghyun huffs and Yifan merely smiles, resuming to eat a dish his mother prepared for him.
"From our experience, you only call girls hot or sexy," Key says with a smile. He hands Yifan some napkins to wipe his mouth with. "This is the first time you called them fascinating."
"Is this such a crime?" Jonghyun exclaims, a mock hurt expression on his face.
Jongdae catches sight of Jongin with his boyfriend, Kyungsoo. But it's not just them that catches his attention. Beside them is Minseok, a tiny frown on his face while Kyungsoo enthusiastically talks to him.
"Did you guys hear," Key suddenly says, eyes wide as he looks around the table, "that Baekhyun and Chanyeol are dating?"
"Eh?" Jonghyun exclaims, for real this time. "You're shitting me! Baekhyun and Chanyeol are straight though!"
"Keep it down, you brat," Yifan tells Jonghyun, rolling his eyes. Yixing peacefully eats his lunch, an unfazed look in its typical place.
"Who are you calling a brat?" Jonghyun bites.
Jongdae doesn't comprehend anything that's going on at his table because Minseok is walking by. He keeps his eyes trained on Minseok as he passes by the table to enter the lunch lane, where his other friends are, but he doesn't look at Jongdae. Not even once.
Suddenly, he sees Jongin's crotch in front of his face and he scowls. "Dude, get away."
"We're helping you solve your--"
Jongdae slips out of the seat, dragging Jongin by his arm with Kyungsoo trailing behind them with no choice (because their hands are intertwined). The rest of the guys at the table watch in confusion.
"You think they're gonna fight?" Jonghyun asks.
"Nah, not with Kyungsoo there," Sehun says. "He's pretty scary when he's mad."
Yixing can't help but agree.
"There's no problem between me and Minseok," growls Jongdae once they entered an empty hallway.
"Uh, yes there is," Kyungsoo snaps. Seriously, he hates how everyone just aims their horns at Jongin. It's not even Jongin's plan. Jongin does nothing but escort Kyungsoo to deliver his schemes! Motherfucker, he gets so annoyed how everyone wants to rip out his boyfriend's throat when he's the one who's innocent. "Now if you don't get your act together with Minseok, I'm afraid to tell you that you're a hopeless, spineless son of a bitch."
Jongin tries to hide his smile (he loves it when Kyungsoo gets worked up for him). "Jongdae, it's not that hard."
Jongdae deflates. It is hard. He's not gay for fuck's sake! And Minseok isn't either. Plus, he doesn't know if he can protect Minseok from all the harshness that they will certainly receive from society. It's just not fair.
"Minseok has the book," Kyungsoo is saying, smiling brightly at him.
"Huh? What book?"
"The book," Kyungsoo replies. "It informs you about the lovesick virus, its symptoms, and its cure."
"What the hell is a lovesick virus?" Jongdae asks, furrowing his eyebrows.
"You have it in your system right now," Kyungsoo tells him. "Go talk to Minseok. You'll find out."
"And what if I don't talk to him?" Jongdae asks. "It's not like I'll die."
"But you will," Kyungsoo says. (Jongin just shakes his head with a sigh. Kyungsoo can be exaggerate a little too much.) "In fact, you're already dying."
"I am?" Jongdae questions. He doesn't feel like he's dying. Well, maybe a little. His appetite is irregular, his mentality has been weak, and his behavior turned sour. "I can't be. I'm healthy!"
"You're dying, trust me," Kyungsoo says, lips pulling back to show his pearly whites. "So if you don't want to be a mess in the future, I suggest you just accept your emotions and be with Minseok."
"Let me just," Jongdae pushes his fingers in his hair, an unpleasant look on his face. "I'll think about it."
"Perfect," Kyungsoo says, pulling Jongin back towards the direction they came from. "Now if you'll excuse us, we'll be getting our lunch. Get in touch with Minseok, you hear?" And then, the odd but scary couple disappears.
--
Minseok drops down on the grass, uniform shirt sticking to his torso as he breathes in and out deeply. He unbuttons his shirt, trying to cool down as much as possible before he catches the late train back home.
Soccer is his life, his hobby, his distraction, his escape. He can't imagine his life without soccer. And it seems like he can't imagine a life without that stupid Jongdae either. Jongdae with that shit-eating grin that causes his heart to flutter. He thinks back to the book that Kyungsoo lent him, All About the Lovesick Virus (and its Symptoms).
He has only heard of the term lovesick virus and lovesick flu a few times floating around the school. He didn't give it a second thought because he was too focused on the conflicting emotions bubbling in him.
"I thought you'd be here," he hears someone say from a distance.
His heart stops and he jerks up into an awkward sitting position; his torso and head slightly turned around to look behind him and the rest of his limbs facing the other way.
"Jongdae?" he asks in surprise. Minseok feels a burning in his pit, the familiar tingling on his skin, and he thinks back to the supposedly-helpful book that Kyungsoo lent him. "What are you doing here?" Last time he and Jongdae talked out of the classroom ended in a whirlwind of emotions for the both of them.
Jongdae doesn't answer immediately. His eyes are taking in everything about Minseok; how his hair stuck to his forehead, how a coat of sweat is covering his skin, how his undershirt outlined his toned torso, how he's biting his lip.
"Kyungsoo said that I'm dying," he blurts out.
Minseok resists the urge to jump up and panic, but he unconsciously lets his expression slip. "Dying?"
"That's what Kyungsoo said," repeats Jongdae with a weak laugh. He walks closer to Minseok, albeit a little hesitantly, and he halts a few inches next to Minseok. His pulse continues to thud erratically. "May I sit here?"
Minseok swallows dryly. "Do what you want." He folds his legs to his chest, arms circling around them as Jongdae carefully sits down beside him.
"Jongin and Kyungsoo," starts Jongdae uncertainly, not knowing what to say. What's he supposed to say? He and Minseok obviously don't have feelings for each other in the first place (a total lie).
"They're trying to get us together," Minseok finishes. He pretends that he's disgusted, that he's irritated at the notion, but Jongdae knows--deep inside--that Minseok wants that. That they both want it.
"He says I'm dying," Jongdae says again, hating how he sounded dumb for repeating the same thing over and over again.
"I know," Minseok murmurs, glancing quickly at Jongdae. His gaze returns to the open space in front of them. They're at the school's field, where all the other athletes practice their sports. However, since exams are one week away, clubs are cancelled in order to let the students have time to study. So it's just he and Jongdae lounging on the field. "Have you heard of the lovesick virus?"
"Just today. From Kyungsoo," answers Jongdae. It feels too nostalgic to him; sitting next to Minseok, talking to Minseok so casually. The last time they did this was sometime during the first half of their year, where they only thought that their feelings for one another were platonic (but they aren't).
"Do you know what it is?"
"No clue."
Minseok breathes deeply, exhaling loudly. "I'll lend you the book. You can read over it. It's in my bag."
Jongdae watches silently as Minseok pulls his bag from the side, taking a red book out of it. He hands it to Jongdae, fingers avoiding his. He can feel his own hand turn cold with nervousness. It's been so long since they've been this close.
"It discusses everything about the lovesick virus and the lovesick flu," Minseok informs him, eyes accidentally making contact with Jongdae's. "I hope it helps."
"I hope so too," Jongdae mutters, tempted to grab Minseok's wrist and just bury his face in his sweaty hair. But he doesn't because he's not gay.
"Is that all?" Minseok asks him, dropping his hand and turning back to the empty field in front of them.
"I, uh, I think so," Jongdae answers. He doesn't know, to be honest. He wants to ask more; ask Minseok how he's doing even though they're in the same class or ask him more about this lovesick shit--because . . . Jongdae pushes his thoughts away. "Thanks," he clears his throat. "Thanks, Minseok."
His name rolls off his tongue smoothly, and Minseok sends him a small smile, chest tightening painfully. "No problem, Jongdae. Well, I'll go now."
Jongdae pushes himself up from the ground, hand automatically being offered to Minseok. The latter looks at it with an astonished gaze, but he merely shakes his head and pushes himself up from the ground as well. Jongdae buries his hand in his pocket while he gives Minseok a strained half-smile.
"I'll see you tomorrow then," he says.
"Right," Minseok agrees, nodding his head once. They catch each other's gaze for a moment, and they instantaneously break it. Minseok moves past Jongdae, shoulders not brushing his--not even close. Jongdae watches, like he usually does, and Minseok doesn't look back.
He never does.
--
Symptom #6 - Heartache. Perhaps that's what Jongdae is experiencing, but Jongdae honestly doesn't know. He doesn't believe that this fucking virus is messing him up, because there's no such thing as a lovesick virus. It's a rip-off, in Jongdae's opinion. But he dials Jongin's number the next night, not knowing what else to do.
"So you're contacting my boyfriend now, huh?"
Jongdae nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears Kyungsoo's voice. "I was just going to ask him--hold on, what are you doing with Jongin at a weekend night?"
"None of your business," Kyungsoo replies. Jongdae hears Jongin laugh faintly. "So have you talked to Minseok yet?"
"Yeah, about that," Jongdae rubs the back of his neck while he strolls to his bed, feet dragging against his floor, "I don't think it will work. I'm telling you, you guys got it all wrong and we're not made for each other. We're not even gay."
"Fuck that shit," Kyungsoo says, sassy tone and everything, "Baekhyun and Chanyeol weren't gay, but they're dating now. Jongin and I weren't gay, but we're together right now. The lovesick flu can infect anyone. It doesn't matter if you're straight, gay, or pansexual."
"But I'm just--"
"Not gay? Yeah you are. Maybe just for Minseok, but still," Kyungsoo says. "Baekhyun was in denial too."
"What happened that made him change his mind?"
"We interfered," Kyungsoo happily says.
"Oh god," Jongdae sighs. He should've known. Baekhyun and Chanyeol wouldn't be dating if it weren't for these two. "But, really, Kyungsoo, there's nothing between Minseok and I."
"That's not what Minseok said," Kyungsoo says.
"What?" asks Jongdae, completely caught off-guard. "What did he say?"
"Well, he was drunk--"
"With who?" Jongdae cuts in, eyebrows furrowing. Minseok drinks? He would've never guessed.
"With Luhan. But listen," Kyungsoo says, annoyance tinting his voice, "Luhan and Minseok were getting drunk in Luhan's apartment--I honestly don't know how he met that guy--and Luhan called me on Minseok's phone, asking me to take Minseok home because he was tired of listening to Minseok complaining. Even though it was troublesome, I took him home anyway. And then he started talking in the cab."
"I'm listening," Jongdae says.
"Yeah, well, he was just saying that he thinks he doesn't like you but he knows he does, and he was just a sobbing mess," Kyungsoo exhales. "I felt bad for him; I still do."
"If this happened a long time ago," Jongdae starts to say, "then he probably already moved on or some shit."
"Just a few months ago," Kyungsoo replies, "he still likes you. It's so obvious. You guys are so obvious."
"We don't have any feelings whatsoever for each other," Jongdae forces out through gritted teeth. It kind of hurts to say it. His mind is trying so hard to tell his heart to feel an alternate emotion for Minseok; but it won't fucking listen.
"Fine," Kyungsoo snaps, "if you want to be a cunt, then be it. I guess I'll just try to get Luhan and Minseok together. Or maybe Yixing and Minseok. Or Sehun and--"
"I get it, I get it," Jongdae interjects, fingers curling. He doesn't like the sound of any of it.
"So are you going to--"
"No," Jongdae stubbornly says. His heart is aching like a little fuck, but he can't stop refusing, he can't stop denying his feelings--because he just can't.
"Fine, do what you want," Kyungsoo says, voice hard, "But you two will regret avoiding your feelings."
--
Minseok gets hit in the face with a towel.
"Pay attention, child," Luhan says before chugging down a bottle of water. "You'll lose your pretty face if you keep on daydreaming."
"I'm just thinking," he says with a sigh.
"What, about that Jongdae-ass?" Luhan guesses, a tiny frown on his face. "Minseok, you're never going to move on if you keep on thinking about him."
"I know that, but it's just different," Minseok says. He wipes his face with the towel Luhan threw at him. "Jongdae's different."
"Right, sure," Luhan sarcastically replies. He plops down beside Minseok on the grass, soccer ball resting in betweem them. "Say, shouldn't you be studying for your exams next week?"
"Yeah," Minseok mumbles, putting his forehead on his knees. "I just want to play soccer forever."
"I wish," Luhan sighs. "That would be nice."
"Very nice," Minseok agrees.
On the pavement, a few meters away from the grassy open space, Jongdae is walking with Jongin and Kyungsoo. It was actually Kyungsoo's plan to hang out with Jongdae, and he claims that this is the last time he's going to try and force Jongdae to admit to his feelings. But then Kyungsoo takes notice of the two forms by the grassy field and halts.
"I think that's them."
Jongdae clenches his jaw, squinting at the two forms on the field. "Don't tell me you're going to--"
"Hey!" Kyungsoo yells, cupping his mouth with his hands, "Minseok! Luhan!" The two don't hear, and Jongdae watches them laugh, looking so compatible with one another. Minseok hits Luhan's shoulder and Luhan puts him in a head lock to ruffle his hair. He feels his face morph into an irritated expression even though he tried so hard to keep it in.
"Minseok!" Kyungsoo yells again, moving closer. This time, Minseok looks back and the smile slips away from his face when he sees Jongdae.
Luhan follows his friend's gaze and stares at Jongdae, who was giving him the stink eye, and he glances back towards Minseok. They both stand up, shoulders bumping and Minseok kind of hiding behind Luhan.
"Nice to see you again, Kyungsoo," Luhan greets. He smiles at Kyungsoo and Jongin in greeting and quickly zeroes in on Jongdae. His smile turns sour. "You must be Jongdae."
"And you must be Luhan," Jongdae says in the same tone. He notices how Minseok shrinks a little behind Luhan. He feels his blood boil, because Minseok shouldn't be hiding from him, and he shouldn't be so close to Luhan.
"Do you guys want to join us for coffee?" Kyungsoo asks amiably.
Luhan and Minseok exchange glances.
"We're fine," Minseok tells Kyungsoo. "We're going to do another round of soccer, so."
"I understand," Kyungsoo says.
"Maybe next time," Luhan tells them, eyes lingering on Jongdae. He grabs Minseok's hand. "Study well for your exams, you guys."
"Thank you," they bow (well Jongdae forces his head to bow), and walk away. Jongdae looks behind him, watching--waiting for Minseok to look back.
But he didn't.
--
"He's happy with Luhan," Jongdae says on Monday morning. He feels like shit, and it's not the best feeling to experience--especially during their exams. After spending time with Kyungsoo and Jongin in the past weekend--and seeing Minseok with Luhan looking so happy, he (finally) openly admits that he reallyreallyreally likes Minseok.
"Who is?" Yifan, who happened to eavesdrop on the conversation, asks. "And who's Luhan?"
"Minseok's friend," Kyungsoo tells him.
"Ah, you're sad because Minseok ditched you for another best friend," Yifan observes. "It's okay, Jongdae, friends come and go. But the rest of us will always be on your ass, so don't worry."
"He's actually--"
"Baekhyun ah," they hear someone yell from the end of the hallway. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to forget!"
"Will you shut the fuck up, Chanyeol?" Baekhyun asks, a little too loudly.
"Mr. Byun, language please," a nearby teacher scolds.
"Oh my, I wonder what they're fighting about this time," Kyungsoo says, although there's a smile lighting up his face. Baekhyun sees them and waves and then he enters his classroom, Chanyeol trailing behind with a pout.
"So they're really dating?" Yifan asks.
"Two weeks," Kyungsoo proudly says. "That's half a month."
"We know, Kyungie, we know," Jongin tells him amusedly.
Oh god, Jongdae thinks, they have nicknames for each other. They're so cute, it's gross.
"Morning Minseok," Kyungsoo suddenly says, looking past Jongdae. Jongdae immediately turns on his heels to look behind him and Kyungsoo snorts. "You fell for it."
"Well, good luck to your friendship," Yifan says, checking his watch. "I'm going to class. Do well on the exams."
"I think you meant good luck on your exams," Jongin says, making a face at the formal sentence Yifan just threw at them.
"Yeah, that," Yifan says. He nods to them and stalks off, hands in his pockets and simply being his handsome self as he walks down the corridor.
"His Korean isn't that bad," Jongdae says.
"Hey Minseok," Kyungsoo says again, but Jongdae thinks that he won't fall for a joke like that (ever again). So he doesn't turn around, even when Jongin says sup Minseok.
"I'm not falling for that again," Jongdae tells them.
"Oh, hi guys," he hears Minseok say behind him. Jongdae swears. "Class is about to start, you know," he tells them, totally avoiding any contact with Jongdae.
"Yeah, we were just about to leave," Kyungsoo tells them, hooking his arm with Jongin's. "Good luck on your tests!" They disappear before the other two could reply.
Minseok steps around Jongdae, chin tilted down so they won't accidentally stare into each other's eyes, and then Jongdae says, "Luhan's pretty cool, huh?"
Minseok looks over his shoulder. "Yes. He is." And then he enters their classroom.
That's the first time in months that Minseok looked back. And it hurt because he only did that to answer a question about Luhan.
--
"You're going to kill yourself, you motherfucker," Baekhyun says, throwing a plastic wrapper at Jongdae's face. "I can't believe you joined our group though. It used to be the four of us, and now there's five."
"If you don't recall," Kyungsoo says to Baekhyun, "it was originally Jongin and I, but then you tagged along with your problems and boom, there's Chanyeol."
"I don't want to be around the other guys right now," Jongdae sighs, putting his head on the desk. The library is so quiet that it seems so loud in his ears. He was used to the noise in the cafeteria, but he just didn't want to see Minseok today.
"Here, eat something. You'll need the energy for the exams later," Kyungsoo says, handing Jongdae some convenience store snacks.
"I'm your best friend, but you give him food," Baekhyun says. Chanyeol pushes his fries towards Baekhyun, raising his eyebrows, and Baekhyun grins in thanks.
"Thanks," Jongdae says, accepting the food.
"Kyungsoo wasn't lying when he said that you and Minseok are in pretty bad shape," Baekhyun comments, blatantly watching Jongdae.
"Baekhyun," Chanyeol has a scolding ring in his voice.
"What?"
"Don't be so blatant. It can come off as rude, you know."
"You love every part of me, don't you?" Baekhyun raises his eyebrows. Chanyeol sighs, as if to say unfortunately.
"Ew, you guys are gross," Jongin closes his eyes and covers his ears.
"Now you know how I felt when I was around you losers," Baekhyun states, resuming to eat the fries Chanyeol offered him.
"You guys are so gay," Jongdae cries, folding his arms on the table and burying his face into them.
"The fuck did you say, you shit?" Baekhyun snaps.
"Sorry," Kyungsoo apologizes on behalf of his friend, "He still thinks he's straight."
"How many times do I have to say that I'm only fucking gay for Park Chanyeol?" Baekhyun says slowly, enunciating the words clearly. He glares at the smirking Jongin and was about to flip him off if it weren't for Chanyeol holding onto his non-greasy hand. "I'm still straight, just not for Chanyeol, damn it."
"I'm going to die," Jongdae says. "I'm not gay, but I like Minseok, and it's pissing me off that he's on good terms with Luhan but I'm not jealous--and I'm not gay--"
"Calm down, man," Jongin chuckles, picking up some sticky rice with his chopsticks. "I'm sure you're one of us. Only gay for that one person."
"I want to puke," Jongdae cries some more, munching on the snacks that Kyungsoo gave him.
"Wait a minute," Baekhyun says, "so both of you are avoiding each other?"
"Yes."
"But did you already confess or something?"
"No."
"You cock sucker, go confess," Baekhyun orders. "In my opinion, coming clean with those things are better."
"It's not like you did it," Kyungsoo says, grinning at Baekhyun.
"What has passed is in the past," Baekhyun tells his best friend. He turns back to Jongdae. "Can you, like, brief me in on what's going on with you and Minseok? The two losers beside you only told me that you guys have a shitty relationship."
Jongdae puts his chin on his folded arms, eyes staring on a spot on the table. "We were friends since last year, and we only started noticing that our platonic friendship isn't very platonic earlier this year. I don't know who realized it first but we started distancing away from one another. And then we had a fight during winter break because we couldn't understand what's happening, so we blamed each other. And now this."
"Well, shit," Baekhyun says.
"Everyone's turning gay," Jongin adds.
"I can't believe this," Jongdae buries his face into his arms again. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Confess confess confess," cheers Baekhyun. Chanyeol agrees, just because.
"What do you want to happen Jongdae?" Kyungsoo asks. "Do you want to not be gay and let Luhan take Minseok away? Or do you want to be happy with Minseok and hold him, kiss him, touch him--"
"I get it, god," Jongdae sighs. "I'll confess."
"You're finally growing a vagina," Baekhyun nods approvingly.
"A vagina?" Jongin widens his eyes. "Don't you mean balls?"
"No, you see," Baekhyun slings an arm around Chanyeol's shoulders, "Chanyeol and I were on this site called T-U-M-B-L-R and it had really cool shit. We saw--uh, what's it called--a post that said that vaginas are tougher than balls because they can take poundings while balls are very sensitive. In which case, it's true--"
"Okay, I'm seriously done," Kyungsoo says. "Chanyeol, please don't influence my best friend like that. He's already weird as he is."
"I'll try not to," Chanyeol enthusiastically replies.
Jongdae sighs loudly. He just can't with these people.
--
It's Friday today, the last day for the exams.
Jongdae sees his other groupies hanging around by the staircase and he greets them.
"You look terrible," Key automatically says. He moves close to Jongdae, hands cupping his cheeks while he leans closer to inspect Jongdae's condition. "What have you been doing to yourself, eh?"
"That's what you get for being single," Jonghyun scolds, shaking his head.
"You're single too," Sehun says to Jonghyun. "In fact, we're all single except for Yifan over there."
"Have you been eating well?" Key asks, eyebrows furrowed. "We haven't seen you in the cafeteria for a while. And we've been seeing you with the other students from the other class. I didn't know you were close with them."
"Yeah, recently we've gotten close," Jongdae sighs. He doesn't have the engery to fight off Key's inspecting hands. Key rubs underneath his eyes (probably trying to get rid of his eye bags) and it feels amazing. He felt like he could go to sleep. His knees feel weak and he doesn't realize that his eyes are closed until he hears--
"I guess you're pretty close with him, huh?"
Jongdae snaps his eyes open and Key steps back in surprise, almost falling on Jonghyun. He sees Minseok looking at him, a tight smile on his face.
"No, it's not--"
"Yes you are," Minseok sneers. Even though Jongdae and Key looked like weirdos with Key massaging the bags under Jongdae's eyes, Minseok didn't miss the pleased expression on Jongdae's face.
"Well, you're pretty close with Luhan too," he yells after Minseok's retreating back.
"What," Yixing says, glancing between a flustered Jongdae and the direction that Minseok took, "was that?"
"Jongdae's place in Minseok's best friend list is being replaced by a guy named Luhan," Yifan informs them (even though he doesn't know shit about what's really going on).
"I have a tutor named Luhan," Sehun says thoughtfully. "He's Chinese or something. And he's teaching me math."
"Not of importance right now, Sehun," Jonghyun tells him.
"Are you okay?" Yixing asks Jongdae.
"Better than that," Jongdae replies through clenched teeth. "I'm going to class."
"You eating lunch with us?" Yifan asks.
"Nah, I have things to do," Jongdae says as he climbs the stairs. "Good luck." He waves at them.
--
Minseok couldn't focus on his exams.
All he could think about was Key and Jongdae and that stupid look on Jongdae's face when Key was touching him. Ugh, he hates Jongdae. He hates him so much. He's so distracting! Minseok kicks the dirt with the toe of his shoe while he walks around the field. Motherfucker, if he could only play soccer. It would calm his nerves and help him focus for the rest of the day.
"Minseok!"
He turns his head, voice ringing in his ears. Talk about the devil.
"What the hell do you want?" Minseok yells back. He watches as Jongdae jogs towards him, hair messed up and his right cheek harboring sleeping marks.
"Just hear me out," Jongdae says. He pulls a strawberry-flavored hard candy wrapped in pink plastic and gives it to Minseok. He knows Minseok likes these candies. It's his favorite. Minseok opens his palm and Jongdae takes his hand in his, covering it with both of his hands.
"I reallyreallyreallyreally like you and I hate how much time you spend with Luhan and how much fun you look like you're having," Jongdae blurts out, cheeks redenning, "I've always denied that I like you but in truth I think I maybeinlovewithyou and I--I don't know what to do." He squeezes his hand before dropping his own hands to his sides. "And that's it."
Minseok opens and closes his mouth, too dumbfounded to react. Jongdae's heart is beating like an '808 drum, nonstop and very fast, and his palms are sweating because Minseok looks like he's about to reject him. But then the latter peels the wrapper off and shoves the candy in his mouth, eyes watery as he glares at Jongdae.
"I hate how you're just confessing now," Minseok says, chewing on the candy. It's hurting his molars but he doesn't care. He needs something to distract him with. And there's no soccer ball at the moment. "I hate how we've been apart for so long. I hate that I cried so much for you. I hate thinking that you were straight, and that I had no hope and that--"
"You're stupid."
"You're stupid," Minseok cries.
They look at each other and Jongdae pulls another strawberry-flavored candy from his pocket. He offers it to Minseok. "What should we do now?"
"I don't know," Minseok says weakly, accepting the candy offer. His heartbeat speeds up when their fingers brush against one another.
"Hang out after school?" Jongdae asks hopefully, catching his lower lip between his teeth.
"Sure," Minseok slowly replies, stomach erupting with butterflies (symptom #3). He checks his watch and puts the candy in his mouth. "We should head back. The bell's about to ring." He brushes past Jongdae, shoulders nearly touching, and then Jongdae is calling after him, heart beating fast as he waits for Minseok to look back.
He does. And he's looking back at him. Jongdae sends him a toothy smile and Minseok turns around with red-tinted cheeks (symptom #4), heart fluttering in his chest.
--
A/N: i honesty thought i wouldn't do this but i did. i wrote this in AFF
Pairing: Jongdae/Minseok
Rating: PG-13
Genre: romance, humor, au
Summary: A side-story for Lovesick.
--
Jongdae drops his textbooks on the lunch table, sighing as he slides into the seat next to his boisterous friends.
"What's up with you? You've been gloomy since the beginning of the semester," Yixing, an exchange student from China, says with a distinct accent.
"Maybe he got rejected," Sehun laughs and Jongdae sinks further into the seat. Sehun immediately sobers up and leans over the table. "You did?"
"No way," Jongdae mutters in annoyance. No way because he never asked him out and they never officially confessed. (It's not like there was anything to confess about anyway.) "The girls here are boring. That's why."
"Uh huh," Jonghyun says, tone in fake suspicion, "right. Okay. If you haven't noticed, there are fascinating girls everywhere--"
"Wait, hold up," Yifan butts in, chopsticks pointing rudely at Jonghyun, "did you just call the girls fascinating? Well, isn't that the first."
"Don't use your sarcasm on me, Mr. I'm-from-Bankooba," Jonghyun huffs and Yifan merely smiles, resuming to eat a dish his mother prepared for him.
"From our experience, you only call girls hot or sexy," Key says with a smile. He hands Yifan some napkins to wipe his mouth with. "This is the first time you called them fascinating."
"Is this such a crime?" Jonghyun exclaims, a mock hurt expression on his face.
Jongdae catches sight of Jongin with his boyfriend, Kyungsoo. But it's not just them that catches his attention. Beside them is Minseok, a tiny frown on his face while Kyungsoo enthusiastically talks to him.
"Did you guys hear," Key suddenly says, eyes wide as he looks around the table, "that Baekhyun and Chanyeol are dating?"
"Eh?" Jonghyun exclaims, for real this time. "You're shitting me! Baekhyun and Chanyeol are straight though!"
"Keep it down, you brat," Yifan tells Jonghyun, rolling his eyes. Yixing peacefully eats his lunch, an unfazed look in its typical place.
"Who are you calling a brat?" Jonghyun bites.
Jongdae doesn't comprehend anything that's going on at his table because Minseok is walking by. He keeps his eyes trained on Minseok as he passes by the table to enter the lunch lane, where his other friends are, but he doesn't look at Jongdae. Not even once.
Suddenly, he sees Jongin's crotch in front of his face and he scowls. "Dude, get away."
"We're helping you solve your--"
Jongdae slips out of the seat, dragging Jongin by his arm with Kyungsoo trailing behind them with no choice (because their hands are intertwined). The rest of the guys at the table watch in confusion.
"You think they're gonna fight?" Jonghyun asks.
"Nah, not with Kyungsoo there," Sehun says. "He's pretty scary when he's mad."
Yixing can't help but agree.
"There's no problem between me and Minseok," growls Jongdae once they entered an empty hallway.
"Uh, yes there is," Kyungsoo snaps. Seriously, he hates how everyone just aims their horns at Jongin. It's not even Jongin's plan. Jongin does nothing but escort Kyungsoo to deliver his schemes! Motherfucker, he gets so annoyed how everyone wants to rip out his boyfriend's throat when he's the one who's innocent. "Now if you don't get your act together with Minseok, I'm afraid to tell you that you're a hopeless, spineless son of a bitch."
Jongin tries to hide his smile (he loves it when Kyungsoo gets worked up for him). "Jongdae, it's not that hard."
Jongdae deflates. It is hard. He's not gay for fuck's sake! And Minseok isn't either. Plus, he doesn't know if he can protect Minseok from all the harshness that they will certainly receive from society. It's just not fair.
"Minseok has the book," Kyungsoo is saying, smiling brightly at him.
"Huh? What book?"
"The book," Kyungsoo replies. "It informs you about the lovesick virus, its symptoms, and its cure."
"What the hell is a lovesick virus?" Jongdae asks, furrowing his eyebrows.
"You have it in your system right now," Kyungsoo tells him. "Go talk to Minseok. You'll find out."
"And what if I don't talk to him?" Jongdae asks. "It's not like I'll die."
"But you will," Kyungsoo says. (Jongin just shakes his head with a sigh. Kyungsoo can be exaggerate a little too much.) "In fact, you're already dying."
"I am?" Jongdae questions. He doesn't feel like he's dying. Well, maybe a little. His appetite is irregular, his mentality has been weak, and his behavior turned sour. "I can't be. I'm healthy!"
"You're dying, trust me," Kyungsoo says, lips pulling back to show his pearly whites. "So if you don't want to be a mess in the future, I suggest you just accept your emotions and be with Minseok."
"Let me just," Jongdae pushes his fingers in his hair, an unpleasant look on his face. "I'll think about it."
"Perfect," Kyungsoo says, pulling Jongin back towards the direction they came from. "Now if you'll excuse us, we'll be getting our lunch. Get in touch with Minseok, you hear?" And then, the odd but scary couple disappears.
--
Minseok drops down on the grass, uniform shirt sticking to his torso as he breathes in and out deeply. He unbuttons his shirt, trying to cool down as much as possible before he catches the late train back home.
Soccer is his life, his hobby, his distraction, his escape. He can't imagine his life without soccer. And it seems like he can't imagine a life without that stupid Jongdae either. Jongdae with that shit-eating grin that causes his heart to flutter. He thinks back to the book that Kyungsoo lent him, All About the Lovesick Virus (and its Symptoms).
He has only heard of the term lovesick virus and lovesick flu a few times floating around the school. He didn't give it a second thought because he was too focused on the conflicting emotions bubbling in him.
"I thought you'd be here," he hears someone say from a distance.
His heart stops and he jerks up into an awkward sitting position; his torso and head slightly turned around to look behind him and the rest of his limbs facing the other way.
"Jongdae?" he asks in surprise. Minseok feels a burning in his pit, the familiar tingling on his skin, and he thinks back to the supposedly-helpful book that Kyungsoo lent him. "What are you doing here?" Last time he and Jongdae talked out of the classroom ended in a whirlwind of emotions for the both of them.
Jongdae doesn't answer immediately. His eyes are taking in everything about Minseok; how his hair stuck to his forehead, how a coat of sweat is covering his skin, how his undershirt outlined his toned torso, how he's biting his lip.
"Kyungsoo said that I'm dying," he blurts out.
Minseok resists the urge to jump up and panic, but he unconsciously lets his expression slip. "Dying?"
"That's what Kyungsoo said," repeats Jongdae with a weak laugh. He walks closer to Minseok, albeit a little hesitantly, and he halts a few inches next to Minseok. His pulse continues to thud erratically. "May I sit here?"
Minseok swallows dryly. "Do what you want." He folds his legs to his chest, arms circling around them as Jongdae carefully sits down beside him.
"Jongin and Kyungsoo," starts Jongdae uncertainly, not knowing what to say. What's he supposed to say? He and Minseok obviously don't have feelings for each other in the first place (a total lie).
"They're trying to get us together," Minseok finishes. He pretends that he's disgusted, that he's irritated at the notion, but Jongdae knows--deep inside--that Minseok wants that. That they both want it.
"He says I'm dying," Jongdae says again, hating how he sounded dumb for repeating the same thing over and over again.
"I know," Minseok murmurs, glancing quickly at Jongdae. His gaze returns to the open space in front of them. They're at the school's field, where all the other athletes practice their sports. However, since exams are one week away, clubs are cancelled in order to let the students have time to study. So it's just he and Jongdae lounging on the field. "Have you heard of the lovesick virus?"
"Just today. From Kyungsoo," answers Jongdae. It feels too nostalgic to him; sitting next to Minseok, talking to Minseok so casually. The last time they did this was sometime during the first half of their year, where they only thought that their feelings for one another were platonic (but they aren't).
"Do you know what it is?"
"No clue."
Minseok breathes deeply, exhaling loudly. "I'll lend you the book. You can read over it. It's in my bag."
Jongdae watches silently as Minseok pulls his bag from the side, taking a red book out of it. He hands it to Jongdae, fingers avoiding his. He can feel his own hand turn cold with nervousness. It's been so long since they've been this close.
"It discusses everything about the lovesick virus and the lovesick flu," Minseok informs him, eyes accidentally making contact with Jongdae's. "I hope it helps."
"I hope so too," Jongdae mutters, tempted to grab Minseok's wrist and just bury his face in his sweaty hair. But he doesn't because he's not gay.
"Is that all?" Minseok asks him, dropping his hand and turning back to the empty field in front of them.
"I, uh, I think so," Jongdae answers. He doesn't know, to be honest. He wants to ask more; ask Minseok how he's doing even though they're in the same class or ask him more about this lovesick shit--because . . . Jongdae pushes his thoughts away. "Thanks," he clears his throat. "Thanks, Minseok."
His name rolls off his tongue smoothly, and Minseok sends him a small smile, chest tightening painfully. "No problem, Jongdae. Well, I'll go now."
Jongdae pushes himself up from the ground, hand automatically being offered to Minseok. The latter looks at it with an astonished gaze, but he merely shakes his head and pushes himself up from the ground as well. Jongdae buries his hand in his pocket while he gives Minseok a strained half-smile.
"I'll see you tomorrow then," he says.
"Right," Minseok agrees, nodding his head once. They catch each other's gaze for a moment, and they instantaneously break it. Minseok moves past Jongdae, shoulders not brushing his--not even close. Jongdae watches, like he usually does, and Minseok doesn't look back.
He never does.
--
Symptom #6 - Heartache. Perhaps that's what Jongdae is experiencing, but Jongdae honestly doesn't know. He doesn't believe that this fucking virus is messing him up, because there's no such thing as a lovesick virus. It's a rip-off, in Jongdae's opinion. But he dials Jongin's number the next night, not knowing what else to do.
"So you're contacting my boyfriend now, huh?"
Jongdae nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears Kyungsoo's voice. "I was just going to ask him--hold on, what are you doing with Jongin at a weekend night?"
"None of your business," Kyungsoo replies. Jongdae hears Jongin laugh faintly. "So have you talked to Minseok yet?"
"Yeah, about that," Jongdae rubs the back of his neck while he strolls to his bed, feet dragging against his floor, "I don't think it will work. I'm telling you, you guys got it all wrong and we're not made for each other. We're not even gay."
"Fuck that shit," Kyungsoo says, sassy tone and everything, "Baekhyun and Chanyeol weren't gay, but they're dating now. Jongin and I weren't gay, but we're together right now. The lovesick flu can infect anyone. It doesn't matter if you're straight, gay, or pansexual."
"But I'm just--"
"Not gay? Yeah you are. Maybe just for Minseok, but still," Kyungsoo says. "Baekhyun was in denial too."
"What happened that made him change his mind?"
"We interfered," Kyungsoo happily says.
"Oh god," Jongdae sighs. He should've known. Baekhyun and Chanyeol wouldn't be dating if it weren't for these two. "But, really, Kyungsoo, there's nothing between Minseok and I."
"That's not what Minseok said," Kyungsoo says.
"What?" asks Jongdae, completely caught off-guard. "What did he say?"
"Well, he was drunk--"
"With who?" Jongdae cuts in, eyebrows furrowing. Minseok drinks? He would've never guessed.
"With Luhan. But listen," Kyungsoo says, annoyance tinting his voice, "Luhan and Minseok were getting drunk in Luhan's apartment--I honestly don't know how he met that guy--and Luhan called me on Minseok's phone, asking me to take Minseok home because he was tired of listening to Minseok complaining. Even though it was troublesome, I took him home anyway. And then he started talking in the cab."
"I'm listening," Jongdae says.
"Yeah, well, he was just saying that he thinks he doesn't like you but he knows he does, and he was just a sobbing mess," Kyungsoo exhales. "I felt bad for him; I still do."
"If this happened a long time ago," Jongdae starts to say, "then he probably already moved on or some shit."
"Just a few months ago," Kyungsoo replies, "he still likes you. It's so obvious. You guys are so obvious."
"We don't have any feelings whatsoever for each other," Jongdae forces out through gritted teeth. It kind of hurts to say it. His mind is trying so hard to tell his heart to feel an alternate emotion for Minseok; but it won't fucking listen.
"Fine," Kyungsoo snaps, "if you want to be a cunt, then be it. I guess I'll just try to get Luhan and Minseok together. Or maybe Yixing and Minseok. Or Sehun and--"
"I get it, I get it," Jongdae interjects, fingers curling. He doesn't like the sound of any of it.
"So are you going to--"
"No," Jongdae stubbornly says. His heart is aching like a little fuck, but he can't stop refusing, he can't stop denying his feelings--because he just can't.
"Fine, do what you want," Kyungsoo says, voice hard, "But you two will regret avoiding your feelings."
--
Minseok gets hit in the face with a towel.
"Pay attention, child," Luhan says before chugging down a bottle of water. "You'll lose your pretty face if you keep on daydreaming."
"I'm just thinking," he says with a sigh.
"What, about that Jongdae-ass?" Luhan guesses, a tiny frown on his face. "Minseok, you're never going to move on if you keep on thinking about him."
"I know that, but it's just different," Minseok says. He wipes his face with the towel Luhan threw at him. "Jongdae's different."
"Right, sure," Luhan sarcastically replies. He plops down beside Minseok on the grass, soccer ball resting in betweem them. "Say, shouldn't you be studying for your exams next week?"
"Yeah," Minseok mumbles, putting his forehead on his knees. "I just want to play soccer forever."
"I wish," Luhan sighs. "That would be nice."
"Very nice," Minseok agrees.
On the pavement, a few meters away from the grassy open space, Jongdae is walking with Jongin and Kyungsoo. It was actually Kyungsoo's plan to hang out with Jongdae, and he claims that this is the last time he's going to try and force Jongdae to admit to his feelings. But then Kyungsoo takes notice of the two forms by the grassy field and halts.
"I think that's them."
Jongdae clenches his jaw, squinting at the two forms on the field. "Don't tell me you're going to--"
"Hey!" Kyungsoo yells, cupping his mouth with his hands, "Minseok! Luhan!" The two don't hear, and Jongdae watches them laugh, looking so compatible with one another. Minseok hits Luhan's shoulder and Luhan puts him in a head lock to ruffle his hair. He feels his face morph into an irritated expression even though he tried so hard to keep it in.
"Minseok!" Kyungsoo yells again, moving closer. This time, Minseok looks back and the smile slips away from his face when he sees Jongdae.
Luhan follows his friend's gaze and stares at Jongdae, who was giving him the stink eye, and he glances back towards Minseok. They both stand up, shoulders bumping and Minseok kind of hiding behind Luhan.
"Nice to see you again, Kyungsoo," Luhan greets. He smiles at Kyungsoo and Jongin in greeting and quickly zeroes in on Jongdae. His smile turns sour. "You must be Jongdae."
"And you must be Luhan," Jongdae says in the same tone. He notices how Minseok shrinks a little behind Luhan. He feels his blood boil, because Minseok shouldn't be hiding from him, and he shouldn't be so close to Luhan.
"Do you guys want to join us for coffee?" Kyungsoo asks amiably.
Luhan and Minseok exchange glances.
"We're fine," Minseok tells Kyungsoo. "We're going to do another round of soccer, so."
"I understand," Kyungsoo says.
"Maybe next time," Luhan tells them, eyes lingering on Jongdae. He grabs Minseok's hand. "Study well for your exams, you guys."
"Thank you," they bow (well Jongdae forces his head to bow), and walk away. Jongdae looks behind him, watching--waiting for Minseok to look back.
But he didn't.
--
"He's happy with Luhan," Jongdae says on Monday morning. He feels like shit, and it's not the best feeling to experience--especially during their exams. After spending time with Kyungsoo and Jongin in the past weekend--and seeing Minseok with Luhan looking so happy, he (finally) openly admits that he reallyreallyreally likes Minseok.
"Who is?" Yifan, who happened to eavesdrop on the conversation, asks. "And who's Luhan?"
"Minseok's friend," Kyungsoo tells him.
"Ah, you're sad because Minseok ditched you for another best friend," Yifan observes. "It's okay, Jongdae, friends come and go. But the rest of us will always be on your ass, so don't worry."
"He's actually--"
"Baekhyun ah," they hear someone yell from the end of the hallway. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to forget!"
"Will you shut the fuck up, Chanyeol?" Baekhyun asks, a little too loudly.
"Mr. Byun, language please," a nearby teacher scolds.
"Oh my, I wonder what they're fighting about this time," Kyungsoo says, although there's a smile lighting up his face. Baekhyun sees them and waves and then he enters his classroom, Chanyeol trailing behind with a pout.
"So they're really dating?" Yifan asks.
"Two weeks," Kyungsoo proudly says. "That's half a month."
"We know, Kyungie, we know," Jongin tells him amusedly.
Oh god, Jongdae thinks, they have nicknames for each other. They're so cute, it's gross.
"Morning Minseok," Kyungsoo suddenly says, looking past Jongdae. Jongdae immediately turns on his heels to look behind him and Kyungsoo snorts. "You fell for it."
"Well, good luck to your friendship," Yifan says, checking his watch. "I'm going to class. Do well on the exams."
"I think you meant good luck on your exams," Jongin says, making a face at the formal sentence Yifan just threw at them.
"Yeah, that," Yifan says. He nods to them and stalks off, hands in his pockets and simply being his handsome self as he walks down the corridor.
"His Korean isn't that bad," Jongdae says.
"Hey Minseok," Kyungsoo says again, but Jongdae thinks that he won't fall for a joke like that (ever again). So he doesn't turn around, even when Jongin says sup Minseok.
"I'm not falling for that again," Jongdae tells them.
"Oh, hi guys," he hears Minseok say behind him. Jongdae swears. "Class is about to start, you know," he tells them, totally avoiding any contact with Jongdae.
"Yeah, we were just about to leave," Kyungsoo tells them, hooking his arm with Jongin's. "Good luck on your tests!" They disappear before the other two could reply.
Minseok steps around Jongdae, chin tilted down so they won't accidentally stare into each other's eyes, and then Jongdae says, "Luhan's pretty cool, huh?"
Minseok looks over his shoulder. "Yes. He is." And then he enters their classroom.
That's the first time in months that Minseok looked back. And it hurt because he only did that to answer a question about Luhan.
--
"You're going to kill yourself, you motherfucker," Baekhyun says, throwing a plastic wrapper at Jongdae's face. "I can't believe you joined our group though. It used to be the four of us, and now there's five."
"If you don't recall," Kyungsoo says to Baekhyun, "it was originally Jongin and I, but then you tagged along with your problems and boom, there's Chanyeol."
"I don't want to be around the other guys right now," Jongdae sighs, putting his head on the desk. The library is so quiet that it seems so loud in his ears. He was used to the noise in the cafeteria, but he just didn't want to see Minseok today.
"Here, eat something. You'll need the energy for the exams later," Kyungsoo says, handing Jongdae some convenience store snacks.
"I'm your best friend, but you give him food," Baekhyun says. Chanyeol pushes his fries towards Baekhyun, raising his eyebrows, and Baekhyun grins in thanks.
"Thanks," Jongdae says, accepting the food.
"Kyungsoo wasn't lying when he said that you and Minseok are in pretty bad shape," Baekhyun comments, blatantly watching Jongdae.
"Baekhyun," Chanyeol has a scolding ring in his voice.
"What?"
"Don't be so blatant. It can come off as rude, you know."
"You love every part of me, don't you?" Baekhyun raises his eyebrows. Chanyeol sighs, as if to say unfortunately.
"Ew, you guys are gross," Jongin closes his eyes and covers his ears.
"Now you know how I felt when I was around you losers," Baekhyun states, resuming to eat the fries Chanyeol offered him.
"You guys are so gay," Jongdae cries, folding his arms on the table and burying his face into them.
"The fuck did you say, you shit?" Baekhyun snaps.
"Sorry," Kyungsoo apologizes on behalf of his friend, "He still thinks he's straight."
"How many times do I have to say that I'm only fucking gay for Park Chanyeol?" Baekhyun says slowly, enunciating the words clearly. He glares at the smirking Jongin and was about to flip him off if it weren't for Chanyeol holding onto his non-greasy hand. "I'm still straight, just not for Chanyeol, damn it."
"I'm going to die," Jongdae says. "I'm not gay, but I like Minseok, and it's pissing me off that he's on good terms with Luhan but I'm not jealous--and I'm not gay--"
"Calm down, man," Jongin chuckles, picking up some sticky rice with his chopsticks. "I'm sure you're one of us. Only gay for that one person."
"I want to puke," Jongdae cries some more, munching on the snacks that Kyungsoo gave him.
"Wait a minute," Baekhyun says, "so both of you are avoiding each other?"
"Yes."
"But did you already confess or something?"
"No."
"You cock sucker, go confess," Baekhyun orders. "In my opinion, coming clean with those things are better."
"It's not like you did it," Kyungsoo says, grinning at Baekhyun.
"What has passed is in the past," Baekhyun tells his best friend. He turns back to Jongdae. "Can you, like, brief me in on what's going on with you and Minseok? The two losers beside you only told me that you guys have a shitty relationship."
Jongdae puts his chin on his folded arms, eyes staring on a spot on the table. "We were friends since last year, and we only started noticing that our platonic friendship isn't very platonic earlier this year. I don't know who realized it first but we started distancing away from one another. And then we had a fight during winter break because we couldn't understand what's happening, so we blamed each other. And now this."
"Well, shit," Baekhyun says.
"Everyone's turning gay," Jongin adds.
"I can't believe this," Jongdae buries his face into his arms again. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Confess confess confess," cheers Baekhyun. Chanyeol agrees, just because.
"What do you want to happen Jongdae?" Kyungsoo asks. "Do you want to not be gay and let Luhan take Minseok away? Or do you want to be happy with Minseok and hold him, kiss him, touch him--"
"I get it, god," Jongdae sighs. "I'll confess."
"You're finally growing a vagina," Baekhyun nods approvingly.
"A vagina?" Jongin widens his eyes. "Don't you mean balls?"
"No, you see," Baekhyun slings an arm around Chanyeol's shoulders, "Chanyeol and I were on this site called T-U-M-B-L-R and it had really cool shit. We saw--uh, what's it called--a post that said that vaginas are tougher than balls because they can take poundings while balls are very sensitive. In which case, it's true--"
"Okay, I'm seriously done," Kyungsoo says. "Chanyeol, please don't influence my best friend like that. He's already weird as he is."
"I'll try not to," Chanyeol enthusiastically replies.
Jongdae sighs loudly. He just can't with these people.
--
It's Friday today, the last day for the exams.
Jongdae sees his other groupies hanging around by the staircase and he greets them.
"You look terrible," Key automatically says. He moves close to Jongdae, hands cupping his cheeks while he leans closer to inspect Jongdae's condition. "What have you been doing to yourself, eh?"
"That's what you get for being single," Jonghyun scolds, shaking his head.
"You're single too," Sehun says to Jonghyun. "In fact, we're all single except for Yifan over there."
"Have you been eating well?" Key asks, eyebrows furrowed. "We haven't seen you in the cafeteria for a while. And we've been seeing you with the other students from the other class. I didn't know you were close with them."
"Yeah, recently we've gotten close," Jongdae sighs. He doesn't have the engery to fight off Key's inspecting hands. Key rubs underneath his eyes (probably trying to get rid of his eye bags) and it feels amazing. He felt like he could go to sleep. His knees feel weak and he doesn't realize that his eyes are closed until he hears--
"I guess you're pretty close with him, huh?"
Jongdae snaps his eyes open and Key steps back in surprise, almost falling on Jonghyun. He sees Minseok looking at him, a tight smile on his face.
"No, it's not--"
"Yes you are," Minseok sneers. Even though Jongdae and Key looked like weirdos with Key massaging the bags under Jongdae's eyes, Minseok didn't miss the pleased expression on Jongdae's face.
"Well, you're pretty close with Luhan too," he yells after Minseok's retreating back.
"What," Yixing says, glancing between a flustered Jongdae and the direction that Minseok took, "was that?"
"Jongdae's place in Minseok's best friend list is being replaced by a guy named Luhan," Yifan informs them (even though he doesn't know shit about what's really going on).
"I have a tutor named Luhan," Sehun says thoughtfully. "He's Chinese or something. And he's teaching me math."
"Not of importance right now, Sehun," Jonghyun tells him.
"Are you okay?" Yixing asks Jongdae.
"Better than that," Jongdae replies through clenched teeth. "I'm going to class."
"You eating lunch with us?" Yifan asks.
"Nah, I have things to do," Jongdae says as he climbs the stairs. "Good luck." He waves at them.
--
Minseok couldn't focus on his exams.
All he could think about was Key and Jongdae and that stupid look on Jongdae's face when Key was touching him. Ugh, he hates Jongdae. He hates him so much. He's so distracting! Minseok kicks the dirt with the toe of his shoe while he walks around the field. Motherfucker, if he could only play soccer. It would calm his nerves and help him focus for the rest of the day.
"Minseok!"
He turns his head, voice ringing in his ears. Talk about the devil.
"What the hell do you want?" Minseok yells back. He watches as Jongdae jogs towards him, hair messed up and his right cheek harboring sleeping marks.
"Just hear me out," Jongdae says. He pulls a strawberry-flavored hard candy wrapped in pink plastic and gives it to Minseok. He knows Minseok likes these candies. It's his favorite. Minseok opens his palm and Jongdae takes his hand in his, covering it with both of his hands.
"I reallyreallyreallyreally like you and I hate how much time you spend with Luhan and how much fun you look like you're having," Jongdae blurts out, cheeks redenning, "I've always denied that I like you but in truth I think I maybeinlovewithyou and I--I don't know what to do." He squeezes his hand before dropping his own hands to his sides. "And that's it."
Minseok opens and closes his mouth, too dumbfounded to react. Jongdae's heart is beating like an '808 drum, nonstop and very fast, and his palms are sweating because Minseok looks like he's about to reject him. But then the latter peels the wrapper off and shoves the candy in his mouth, eyes watery as he glares at Jongdae.
"I hate how you're just confessing now," Minseok says, chewing on the candy. It's hurting his molars but he doesn't care. He needs something to distract him with. And there's no soccer ball at the moment. "I hate how we've been apart for so long. I hate that I cried so much for you. I hate thinking that you were straight, and that I had no hope and that--"
"You're stupid."
"You're stupid," Minseok cries.
They look at each other and Jongdae pulls another strawberry-flavored candy from his pocket. He offers it to Minseok. "What should we do now?"
"I don't know," Minseok says weakly, accepting the candy offer. His heartbeat speeds up when their fingers brush against one another.
"Hang out after school?" Jongdae asks hopefully, catching his lower lip between his teeth.
"Sure," Minseok slowly replies, stomach erupting with butterflies (symptom #3). He checks his watch and puts the candy in his mouth. "We should head back. The bell's about to ring." He brushes past Jongdae, shoulders nearly touching, and then Jongdae is calling after him, heart beating fast as he waits for Minseok to look back.
He does. And he's looking back at him. Jongdae sends him a toothy smile and Minseok turns around with red-tinted cheeks (symptom #4), heart fluttering in his chest.
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A/N: i honesty thought i wouldn't do this but i did. i wrote this in AFF