Exploring the Male Anatomy 5: Sunflowers and Queens
“But… he held my hand~”
Joohyun leaned against the wall underneath the window as she held up her hand, the hand that Yonghwa had said was as soft as silk. She brought up her other hand to draw circles on her palm, just the way he’d done it. Round, and round, and round…
Everything felt surreal now. She looked down on the floor beside her and saw the binoculars she’d dropped in shock. She now regretted all her actions in the past five minutes. Oh, if only she hadn’t been so bored. I should’ve just opened my textbook instead of coming here. I blame the unnies!!! I knew this birdwatching thing was trouble from the very beginning!!!
She slumped down further against the wall, placing a palm on her chest. She could feel her heart’s palpitations.
This puts things back into perspective. Boys always spell trouble, Joohyun. It’s much better this way.
She continued to lecture herself as she closed her eyes.
You’re going to be a doctor and nothing, not even a hot boy like Jung Yonghwa is going to distract you again, ever. Well, it’s not like he’s interested in you, anyway. It was just a naive crush.
Sighing deeply, she got up and closed the curtains quickly, taking extra care not to look towards “that” window. She had a little over two hours to prepare herself for class.
I think I’ll head on to the library. Nothing beats studying to distract me from… stuff.
And with a final flip, she tied the curtains together and left the room without looking back.
~*~*~
Seohyun got to class early. Checking around to see if “he” was already there, she went straight to the professor’s desk.
“Sir, I would like to request for a change in lab partners.”
The professor took off his glasses carefully before looking up at her curiously.
“What’s with the sudden request? Has he been bothering you? Why, that Jung Yong~”
“No, no no! Not like that, sir, it’s just that~”
“Wait, I think I know. You’re bothered by-umm-his anatomy?” the professor whispered conniving, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
“Err-of course not!? Sir~” Joohyun blushed at the thought.
“Well, what is it then?! Actually, I would prefer if we don’t reshuffle partners now since we’ve already settled in for the semester, but if you’ve really got a valid reason…”
“Well…” Joohyun paused as she tried to come up with a plausible reason.
“Well, sir, you see, it’s kind of awkward to work with a guy when our project’s about, umm, you know, the reproductive system…”
“Annyeong!”
Joohyun stiffened as she felt an arm land on her shoulders. She held her breath as she realized whose arm it was.
“Mr. Jung Yonghwa, just the man I was looking for. Why are you wearing sunglasses in my classroom?!” the professor asked sternly.
Yonghwa grinned mischievously as he lowered his sunglasses a little to look at the professor.
“I gotta look cool, prof, especially when I’ve got a hot lab partner like Joohyun here,” he answered.
The professor narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Are you two dating?”
“No!” Joohyun almost shouted. Yonghwa was clearly going to say something but stopped at Joohyun’s loud answer.
The professor leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you sure? Did you fight? Is that why you were asking for a change in lab partners, Miss Seo?” the professor inquired further.
Joohyun bit her lip as she felt the arm around her shoulder stiffen.
“Ahh, it was just a tiny misunderstanding, sir, nothing to worry about, right Joohyun?” Yonghwa said as he pulled her towards their lab table. He released her as they reached their stools. He left her standing as he went directly to his stool and sat down, proceeding to get his stuff out of his bag. Joohyun quietly sat on her own seat and took her lab manual out as well.
No one spoke for a few minutes. Joohyun kept wishing for the bell to ring, signalling the start of class. At least then, they won’t need to talk while the professor gave his lecture. She kept rearranging her books and pens on the counter.
“You really hate me that much?”
Joohyun’s head snapped towards Yonghwa after he said it.
“No! I-I-ah…”
Yonghwa sighed deeply as he began to pick up his bag and stood up. “If you really can’t stand me as your lab partner…”
“Don’t be such a drama queen!” Joohyun hissed as she tried to stop him from leaving by pulling on his sleeve. She suddenly blushed at the word “queen.”
Yonghwa grinned when he saw her blush. “So, you can’t live without me, huh?!”
Joohyun looked away as she felt more blood rush to her face. That smile-
“Let’s just get to work,” she retorted, banging her stuff on the counter top.
“But class hasn’t even started~”
“And take off those sunglasses, you’re inside the classroom for crying out loud,” she added in irritation.
Yonghwa looked around before leaning in towards her. Joohyun leaned away from contact with his arm.
“I can’t take off my sunglasses, Joohyun, it’s embarrassing,” Yonghwa whispered. “Can you keep a secret?” he added as he held the corners of his sunglasses. Curiosity getting the better of her, Joohyun simply nodded her head. He then pulled down his sunglasses slowly, showing her a huge bruise along the side and below his left eye. His eye was quite swollen, too.
Joohyun gasped in surprise at the sight of the black and blue mark. She reached out a hand to touch the bruise. “What happened?”
Yonghwa flinched even at her soft touch. “Ahh, I hit my head against my closet door,” he answered as he covered his eyes again with the sunglasses.
The bell rang then to signal the start of the period. No one talked as the professor lectured. Joohyun found herself failing to concentrate on the lecture, as her mind often drifted to the guy sitting beside her. She unconsciously turned her head towards him several times during class. Yonghwa, however, was extra attentive today. He scribbled notes on his pad like there was no tomorrow.
Joohyun bit her lip as she looked on as Yonghwa busied himself with his notes.
Poor guy, she thought as she looked on. Realization hit her then.
Oh no, did he get punched?! Did they have a lovers’ quarrel?
Her eyes widening, she sneaked another peak towards him, who appeared to be having some difficulty reading his lab manual because of the dark shades.
“Are you sure you didn’t get into a fight?” she whispered curiously.
“Whaattt?! Wow, you’re awesome, you saw right through my lie, didn’t you?”
Joohyun’s hopes all crashed down.
So they DID get into a fight. Trying to pretend nonchalance, she probed further while flipping the pages of her book.
“So, who was it? Someone bigger than you, I guess,” she muttered.
“Awww, Joohyun, I didn’t know you cared…” Yonghwa said as he turned towards her. The professor seemed to be observing them, so he pretended to read his manual. Joohyun did the same.
“Being curious and caring are two different things,” she hissed. She decided to drop the subject then and concentrated on their lab work.
She can ask more questions later.
~*~*~
Being gay is not an issue, but falling for one is another problem for Joohyun altogether. As Joohyun settled down in one of the booths in the coffee shop with her books open, she just couldn’t get him out of her head. She wondered if she would just trash the idea of being anything else but friends with him or continue liking the guy despite the fact that he was… well, gay.
How did I not notice this the first time I saw him?! Maybe the rumour about models being gay is true? I mean, he’s a model, and I found out that he’s gay, plus, he’s too good-looking to be straight…
Joohyun looked up as she noticed a worker of the said café looking at her with a cup on hand. Ah, the goguma latte she ordered was here. She politely thanked the young worker and took a sip of her drink. She decided to just study and stop thinking about him so she picked up her book again and tried to read…
… But, why does he keep flirting with me? Is it just my imagination? Why did I have to flirt back? Ugh, I just embarrassed myself. Maybe he was just really trying to be friendly with me. Why did I let myself like him?! I knew nothing good will come out of it.
Joohyun took another sip of her drink…
Why? Why did he have to be too irresistible? If he didn’t have that purrfect body, and that oh so tempting grin, and his sparkling eyes, his gorgeous jawline and his lips! Gosh, I wouldn’t have fallen for him! It’s his fault! Maybe I should just stay away from him and make our relationship back to where it was before…
Nah, it was actually my fault. If I didn’t go all friendly with him, then I shouldn’t have fallen for him too hard. If I didn’t fall this hard, then I wouldn’t have this stupid turmoil in my head.
“Wait, shouldn’t I be studying?” Joohyun said out loud, trying to get back into studying but can’t seem to do it…
Didn’t he hold my hand? Did he do that be ‘friendly’ with me? If he was only trying to be friends with me, why did he do that? Aish, that confusing Jung Yonghwa.
Silence… her mind went blank for a little bit until Joohyun’s face lit up in realization…
Ah! So he WAS just trying to be friendly with me. Maybe that’s how they work. Maybe he wasn’t thinking much about it since I’m a girl! That’s it! Wah, I shouldn’t have been cold towards him. I should make it up to him by being his gal pal. I mean, he would be delighted by the thought of a girl helping him go shopping or something, right? It’s like, having another unnie!
Joohyun smiled, delighted with her internal decision. A gal pal it is!
~*~*~
Whenever he enters a coffee shop, all he could think of was Iced Americano, Iced Americano, and Iced Americano. But right now, he felt something different. He was actually looking forward not just for the coffee in his hand, but to the person he’ll be talking to.
His eyes easily spotted where she was seated.
“Hey.” He casually patted her shoulder and sat down across her. “Reading again?”
“I rather call this studying rather than reading.” She replied. It was a typical Seo Joo Hyun reply.
He knew he would hate her for this, but he still did it. He closed the book she was reading. “This coffee shop is not a place to study.” He smiled, thinking that one smile might somewhat work for her. Before she could even say anything to him, he took the chance and reached his hand to her bangs. “Don’t your bangs irritate your eyes?” He asked.
Her cheeks flushed red and instantly moved away. “No.”
“Those bangs are covering your pretty eyes.”
She gulped. “Well, so much for complimenting me.” She moved her book to the side. “I have to tell you something.”
He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. “What is it? What is it?” He repeated over and over again like a child excited for his mom’s treat.
“I’ve decided to treat you better.” She slightly smiled.
“Woah.” He leaned back. “Did I save a planet from my previous life to deserve this wonderful blessing?”
She kept on thinking about it last night. She was still disappointed with the sudden turn of events, but she thought that Yong Hwa might be having a hard time especially hiding behind the closet. And so does his lover. “I’m not very knowledgeable in terms of dealing with society, but I do know people can be judgmental. And with how I treated you before, I finally understood that you deserve a friend, someone to talk to. So I’m offering my friendship to you.”
“Jinjja!” He was ecstatic. “Jinjja?” He repeated.
“Please don’t make me say it twice.”
“Then-“ He looked down with a shy smile on his face. “Joo Hyun-ah, as a friend can I ask you something?”
“Sure. Anything.”
“You see, I like this certain person. Do you think this person likes me too?”
Her heart crashed. How could he even ask that? Obviously the skin ship she witnessed was a big proof that his lover likes him too. “I’m not really sure. You’re the only one who can answer it. Do you feel like this person likes you too?”
“Yes. I feel like we’re taking things one step at a time.”
Joo Hyun nodded and took a sip of her tea. “Then that’s good to know.”
“How about making this certain person happy? What is the perfect gift?” He saw her free hand and held it. “If you were in this person’s shoes, what will you like as gift?”
She tried moving her hand away, but he didn’t let go.
“I remember my mom’s hand whenever I hold yours.”
Jung Yong Hwa was really good in tickling her soft spots. The words remember and mother in the same sentences melted her. She just let him be. “Well, if it was me which I’m not, I like going on small walks if ever I did have someone to walk with. Does this person live close to you?”
“Yes, very close.”
She hated how she asked an obvious one. Of course she knew they lived together. “There you go. I bet that person will like it if you go for walks and exercise together.”
“That was good.” He said. “One day we might do that together.” He then let go of her hand.
“Can I ask you something? What’s the name of the person you like?”
He smiled. “Now is not the right time to disclose that person’s name.”
She bit her lip. She knew she shouldn’t have asked. Maybe not even their close friends knew. “I understand.”
“But that person’s name starts with J.”
++++
“Yonghwa-ssi.”
Joohyun snorted out her drink as she discovered the guy standing beside Yonghwa’s seat. It was the tall guy. Or rather, it was his lover.
Yonghwa turned around as he heard his name. “Oh, Jungshin-ah!”
Joohyun quickly grabbed napkins to dry herself, doing her best not to look at the pair in front of her. Her resolve was starting to crumble again.
I don’t think I can do this. It’s him, the name starting with J. Oh my god, what am I getting myself into?!
“Joohyun-ah, I want you to meet my friend Jungshin.”
Joohyun barely looked up as she held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Jungshin-ssi. Sorry about my…ungraceful manners, I was a bit surprised. You’re so… tall.”
She cringed at her lame excuse. Jungshin’s hand didn’t let go of hers for a while. She looked at him and was surprised at the huge smile on his face.
“Ahh, so you’re the famous Joohyun-ssi.”
Joohyun’s mouth fell open in surprise. She looked over at Yonghwa, who was keeping himself busy fiddling with his drink’s straw.
“I didn’t know I was famous.”
“Oh, but you are. All Yonghwa says at the dorm is, ‘Joohyun said this, Joohyun is that,’ it’s getting crazy.”
A snorting, gasping sound erupted from Yonghwa’s side. Jungshin turned to thump him hard on the back, trying to help him. Yonghwa’ sunglasses fell off because of Jungshin’s hard hits.
Wow, he IS strong. No wonder he gave Yonghwa that black-eye.
“Wow, that IS huge. Does it still hurt?” Jungshin asked as he gently touched the bruise. Joohyun had to look away, or else they might see her cringing. She picked up her latte and pretended to drink as she looked outside the window.
Be strong, Joohyun. BE STRONG.
“I was taking Joohyun shopping with me,” she heard Yonghwa say.
“Good! I’ll tag along, just need to buy something.”
Joohyun closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.
I can do this. I should.
She stared at the vase of sunflowers on the coffee table, stroking them one by one as she ignored the two guys in front of her. I never should have fallen for a flower boy. They’re always too pretty to be true…
~*~*~
A/N:
This chapter was a collaboration between the 3 authors, although skyblue_0331 probably wrote 2/3 of it. She also broke her button in the process of editing. Please don't ask why.
The next chapter will be another collaboration between skyblue_0331 and omona143. We're driving out zybeel just coz she's so bossy. LOL *HUGS*