#62: truth is, juliet is actually a guy
Prompt: #62
Title: truth is, juliet is actually a guy
Pairing: Jongdae/Baekhyun
Side Pairings: BFF!Jongdae/Kyungsoo/Chanyeol
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: curse words
Word count: 5.9k
Summary: Jongdae’s head over heels for the female lead in their school musical. He’s determined to be the Romeo for Juliet but she never seems to be around after the show so he asks Baekhyun, an annoying classmate in his English lit class who got him into this musical mess to begin with, to help. Only, he finds that Juliet is a.) a guy and b.) played by Baekhyun.
Author's note: A big thank you for the mods at Chenpionships for being so understanding and running this again; I had lots of fun writing for it last year and this year isn’t any different! Thank you to the prompter for giving such a great idea! It was entertaining to write this fic without really knowing how it’d end myself. Shoutout to P and Z for always being by my side! Another thank you to anyone who reads and comments - your love is always appreciated!
“Last day to get tickets for the school musical!”
Jongdae stares at the raven-haired boy who was standing on the lunch table in the middle of the cafeteria. He scoffs before picking at the carrots on his tray as the loudmouth continued to advertise for the play. Even if he sat at the lunch tables outside the school, he’d still be able to hear the guy shout.
“You’d think about all the times Baekhyun’s been yelled at by the teacher in class, he’d be a little more quiet,” Kyungsoo mutters and Jongdae hums in agreement.
“Hm, that’s right. Speaking of the musical…” Jongdae looks up at Chanyeol who chewed while pointing at him with his fork. “Are you going to go?”
Jongdae grimaces, glancing at Kyungsoo who sat beside him. “Why would I go? Those things are always so boring.”
“I heard this year’s musical is really good,” Kyungsoo pips. “It’s like a modern take on Romeo and Juliet.”
“Unoriginal,” Jongdae shoots, spooning some mashed potatoes in his mouth. Perhaps if they saw his mouth was full, they’d drop the subject. Everyone knows not to talk to someone who is currently try to shove steamed vegetables down his throat.
Well, everyone but Chanyeol and Kyungsoo because the two keep poking at the subject until Jongdae finally agrees to attend. The school bell rings just as Chanyeol nods and while Chanyeol whoops, Kyungsoo nods at the ticket stand that was beginning to clean up.
“You should go get your ticket before they leave.”
Jongdae nods but inside he’s growling. He was planning on watching SMTM4 this Thursday (even though he heard it was pretty whack so far and it was just the first episode); watching a musical was the last thing he wanted to do. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo have Biology with one of the strictest teachers so they say their goodbyes before hurrying to the lab - they had already gotten 31 detentions for being late and it was only February.
Jongdae walks up to the bright blue stand and grimaces at the big sign that was modeled like an iPhone with a text reading, ‘HEY JULIET, I REALLY LIKE YOU’. “Modern Romeo and Juliet can’t seriously be what the musical is, right?”
Baekhyun turns around and he grins. “Hey! Jungshik, right? I think…we have photography together?”
“Jongdae, and no, English Lit but do you have any tickets left?” He shoves his hands in his pockets and hopes for the loud-mouth to say they ran out. Which was impossible, of course, because no one cares about a dumb school musical enough to pay $8 for it.
He blows a raspberry. Jongdae feels a spec of his spit hit his cheek. “Well, Jonghyun, we actually sold out.” Unbelievable.
Jongdae heaves a sigh of relief. “Aw, man, that’s too bad. I really wanted to go. Thanks, anyways.” Jongdae turns to walk around the corner and throw himself a party assorted with the chocolates he stole off of Chanyeol’s lunch tray earlier but Baekhyun calls out to him.
“We really did sell out, but since you’re in my Journalism class, I think I can spot you one. We probably can squeeze in an extra spot just for you -“
“No, really, it’s okay!” Jongdae exclaims, smiling meekly before continuing out of the cafeteria.
“Man, that sucks.”
“Yeah, I wish I could go but,” Jongdae squints one eye and shoots the basketball at the hoop. It misses. “Sold out. Sorry, boys, you’ll just have to go the musical without the party of the trio. Besides, haven’t you heard ‘two is company, three is a crowd’?”
“Okay, firstly, I’m the party of the group and secondly, it’s not a date for me and Kyungsoo.” Chanyeol shades his eyes from the sun as he watches Kyungsoo run after the ball that had bounced off the court. “Besides, Kyungsoo looks like a troll next to me.”
“I’m telling.”
Chanyeol gives Jongdae a look just as someone calls out Jongdae’s name. The two turn just as Kyungsoo makes it back to the court and they see a figure on a bright red bike, pedaling towards them. Jongdae groans; he knows who it is before he sees the face.
“Is that - “
“Jongdae!” Baekhyun jumps off his bike, casting it aside as he runs towards the basketball court. “I had to ask everyone around where you were to give you this.”
He holds out a ticket, reading ‘HEY JULIET I REALLY LIKE YOU’ and Jongdae stares at the ticket, hoping to burn holes through it. Chanyeol towers over his shoulder while Kyungsoo peeks from the side.
“Hey, so they didn’t sell out,” Kyungsoo mutters.
“Actually, we did, but since Jongkey is in my Business class, I figured this was the least I could do.” Baekhyun gestures at the ticket which was still in his hand and Jongdae slowly raises his hands to get it. “No need to thank me.”
Jongdae wasn’t going to but still. “Thanks, anyways.”
“No problem!” Baekhyun shakes his head, his hair brushing back and forth his eyes. Jongdae presses his lips tight together as Baekhyun grinned at him, as if he was expecting something.
“Uh…?”
He grimaces. “So, uh, that’ll be $8.”
Jongdae considers faking sick on Thursday night.
He frowns, staring at the ticket on his table. Just tell them that he drank too much whiskey before the play so he could have a better time than he would without drinking and now he felt sick. No, he paid $8 for it; he could have gotten a large pizza with that. Plus, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were already on their way over so there was no backing out now.
Jongdae sighs, swinging his legs off the edge of the bed and walks over to the closet. How did you even dress for a musical? A t-shirt and jeans was too casual, right? But a suit probably wouldn’t be reasonable. Jongdae reaches over to pick up his phone.
“Hello? We just left the house.”
“What are you guys wearing?” Jongdae asks, frowning at the sweater he was holding. Too hot for this.
“Hm? What do you mean? Just wear something casual,” Kyungsoo replies. “Hold on - Chanyeol, I told you that EDM hurts my head. Oh my g - Hello? Jongdae? I’ll have to call you back.”
“Just tell me what you guys are weari - “ The line goes dead and Jongdae groans, throwing his phone onto his bed before scanning his room. Surely, there would be something for him to wear that was appropriate…He spots a red shirt hanging over his computer chair and picks it up, sniffing it to see if there was a scent. He cocks his head to the side. Some body spray should make everything fine.
“Are you a pre-teen? Why are you asking me if what you’re wearing is okay?” Chanyeol laughs as the three drive out of Jongdae’s street. “Since when do you care what others think of what you’re wearing.”
Jongdae chuckles nervously. He supposes he was right. But deep down, Jongdae thinks anyone who says they don’t care what others think of them is lying, even if it’s just a teeny tiny bit because when someone compliments you, it’s an acknowledgement. And who doesn’t like to be acknowledged?
Jongdae tugs on his variety jacket and slinks down a little in the backseat as Kyungsoo and Chanyeol break out into an argument about whose job it was to remember to bring the tickets.
(They had to go back to Chanyeol’s house to pick up the forgotten tickets.)
Anyone who took English Lit knew how Romeo and Juliet went. Anyone who took English period, knew how Romeo and Juliet went. Who didn’t? The movie was a classic and so popular to the point that people compared couples to the two (idiots, because everyone dies, duh).
This is why Jongdae was a little surprised at how he was actually watching the musical.
Or rather, watching Juliet.
“Dude, she’s fucking hot,” Jongdae whispers as Juliet lays down in bed, texting Romeo about how much fun she had at the party. Her long sleek hair feel down past her shoulders, a little bit over her…chest. Jongdae coughs. “Where have I seen her before? I wouldn’t have forgotten a face like that.”
Kyungsoo looks over at him and raises an eyebrow. “Who?”
Jongdae nods at the stage. “Who plays Juliet?”
Kyungsoo suddenly breaks out in a grin, nudging Chanyeol. “Bro, Jongdae has the hots for Juliet.”
Chanyeol leans over, eyes wide. “Juliet? Isn’t that role played by - “ Kyungsoo elbows him and Jongdae leans in, yearning for the ending to the sentence.
“Who? Who is it played by?”
Kyungsoo laughs, looking back up at stage. “Oh, it’s someone who’s very close to you.”
Jongdae settles back in his seat, uncertain about his friend’s answer. Either way, Jongdae was going to try to catch Juliet backstage later, and ask out his ideal girl. On stage, Juliet stands up from the fake bed (made out of ugly cardboard; who was on the horrible ?). Jongdae sits back in his seat, in awe from Juliet’s body form - she was slim and slender, with a small frame.
“Do you know where I can find Juliet?” Jongdae finds himself asking later after the musical ends. The technician shakes his head and Jongdae tsk’s quietly. He continues peeking in rooms behind the stage and finally sees a big group of people. Jongdae goes on his tippy toes, moving around the crowd to see that the group was nevertheless Juliet’s fanclub.
“Yah, since when did you like romance?” Someone (probably a close friend of hers) asks and a familiar laugh echoes through the room.
“Aigoo,” she coos, rolling her eyes. “Everyone but you likes romance. You just don’t like romance because you never experience it,” she replies and the group bubbles with laughter. Jongdae finds himself smiling as well.
“Juliet!” A boy from the crowd grabs her hands and kneels down. “I’m in love with you! Will you marry me?”
Jongdae glares at the figure, growling under his breath. Surely Juliet doesn’t have a boyfriend? But Juliet laughs lightly before taking back her pretty fingers. “You’re making me blush. Really!”
“Nobody is lying. You did a great job tonight.” All eyes turn to Jongdae as Juliet stares at him, a little taken aback.
“Oh! Jongdae!” She then shyly laughs. (Score.) “It’s not really acting if you’re pretending someone else is Romeo, right?”
She knows his name! Jongdae takes a gulp of air as everyone chimes in agreement. As his heart begins to race, his phone vibrates and he checks it only to find that if he didn’t come to the parking lot in ten seconds, Chanyeol would be driving home without him. Jongdae groans, wishing for more reliable friends when it came to love. He shoves his phone back into his pocket, slowly nudging through the crowd to find his way to the parking lot.
It didn’t matter. Jongdae was going to find out who Juliet was just so he could be her Romeo (dumb because everyone died but…) even if that meant asking each girl in his school.
The next day in Calculus, Jongdae finds himself doodling hearts with JONGDAE + JULIET on the inside.
I’m so fucked, Jongdae thinks, ripping out the page and crumpling it up before throwing it in the garbage can. He sits up, scanning the classroom. His Juliet was probably sitting in this very classroom. He looks over to the girl next to him and studies her hair. Looked about right.
“Hey, Junghee.” He leans over her desk, making her look at him curiously. “You did great in the play last night,” Jongdae tries. The girl’s slightly amused face then turns sour.
“Was that dumb musical last night? I can’t believe you actually paid money to watch that shit.”
Jongdae laughs awkwardly before sitting back down in his seat. Obviously she was not Juliet. Jongdae peeks at her fingers. Oh yeah, definitely not Juliet.
He looks around the classroom again. He groans. Practically every other girl in his class had ‘long and sleek black hair’. He slides out of his seat and walks over to a girl he knew was also in his Chemistry class. Her hair looked about the right length.
“Hanbyul!” Jongdae exclaims, interrupting her discussion she was having with her friends. “Uh, do you possibly have a pencil I can borrow?”
She gives him a look and shakes her head. “You still don’t bring pencils to class, Jongdae?”
Jongdae laughs nervously, glancing at her fingers. Long and thin. Seemed about right. Slowly, his eyes trail up her milky arms and they land on her chest. Jongdae cocks his head to the side, studying the size. About a B cup? Was Juliet a B cup? Jongdae couldn’t tell from being so far from the stage. His eyes move up to her face, only to find her gawking at him, eyes lit with fire and mouth hung open.
“Jongdae!” She shouts, standing up. Fuck, he just got busted for checking out her rack. Oh god, she looks mortified. “W-wha - you pervert!” She yelps, grabbing her backpack from the ground and begins to hit Jongdae once, twice and three times.
He’s chased out of the classroom and locked out, making him sigh, leaning against the wall. Was it really this hard for Romeo to find Juliet at the party? Probably not.
“What are you doing out of class?”
Jongdae stands straight at the voice to find Baekhyun walking up to him from the end of the hallway. “Oh, Baekhyun. Um, nothing. Just, girls, man.” Baekhyun makes an ‘ah’ sound in agreement. “Speaking of girls, do you have any extra tickets for tonight’s musical? There’s another show tonight, no?”
Baekhyun smirks. “Why? I thought you didn’t like musicals.”
“So you do?” Jongdae fishes in his pocket for his wallet. “Come on. For your friend in English Lit. It was $8, right? Fuck, I have $6 and a pack of gum. You’ll take that, yeah? Because I’m your friend from English Lit?”
“You don’t need a ticket, Jongdae. Just sneak through the back. I’ll say you’re with me.”
Jongdae considers asking Baekhyun to be his wingman but thinks better of it and says thanks instead.
“What do you mean you’re busy?” Chanyeol asks that night as Jongdae walks up the school parking lot. “What could be more important than League on Friday night?”
“Listen, I’ll call you back, okay? Just hold down the roof with Kyungsoo for a few hours.”
“A few hours?”
Jongdae doesn’t give Chanyeol enough time to complain and hangs up, entering the school building. If he found out Jongdae was coming to the musical he supposedly hated a second time, he’d never hear the end of it. He knocks on the back door to the stage and a boy opens it, eyeing him up and down.
“I’m with Baekhyun,” Jongdae explains at the guy raises his eyebrows but still steps aside for him to walk in.
The backstage is alit, Jongdae realizes, when he walks further down the corridor. Costumes, last minute practicing, and set drops - it’s a world that Jongdae hasn’t seen before. He walks through the busy crowd, finding the door that led to the audience seating and found a seat close to the front.
Hopefully, he’d catch Juliet alone today.
Sunlight greets Jongdae the next morning, reminding him that he was a failure.
He groans, rolling around in bed. Yesterday night as a disaster. Where the hell could have she have disappeared to so quickly last night without him noticing? Jongdae sighs, muffling his annoyed groans in his pillow before pushing off the covers and making his way to the washroom.
He brushes his teeth while going through the few hundred texts Kyungsoo and Chanyeol had sent him that night, claiming he was a betrayer and had sabotage them for leaving them last night. He rolls his eyes, closing the page to open up his Facebook, scrolling through his News Feed to see how everyone else was spending their Saturday morning.
Kim Junmyeon: Going for a jog! Love breathing in that fresh air in the early morning with the birds singing sweet songs~
Yoon Bomi: Resting during the holiday is over now.. Time to get up ㅜㅜ
Oh Sehun: Keke, guys, check out this cover of Reflection in Mulan! Keke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3P6YXEAvS4
Byun Baekhyun: Last night’s performance was probably the best! Thank you to all that came, I hope you enjoy the show!
Jongdae’s finger hovers over Baekhyun’s Facebook name and taps on it, loading his profile. Studies Theatre Art at SM University, From Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, and Born May 6th 1992. Yes, yes, and yes: these were all things that Jongdae already knew (don’t ask him how because he wasn’t entirely sure himself). He clicks on Baekhyun’s photos and it takes him to an album titled Romeo and Juliet: The Musical. Ah, yes, this was what Jongdae was looking for.
Photos of background drops, fellow actors and actresses and even the Theatre Art’s teacher here and there but none, not one photo of the supposed Juliet. Frustrated, Jongdae looks for Baekhyun number and calls him without thinking.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Baekhyun. It’s Jongdae.”
“God. Our last show was yesterday if you’re calling for tickets. I know my acting is good and really sold the show with how I played - “
“That’s not why I called. I need to ask you something. You free in an hour?”
There’s a pause on the other end. “I guess. An hour you said?”
An hour later, Jongdae sits under the green umbrella of Starbucks, clutching his coffee Frappuccino as he bounced his leg, waiting for Baekhyun. Of course he’d know, right? Right after Jongdae finds out who Juliet was played by, he’d ask Baekhyun to call her, ask her to meet him here and they’d fall in love happily ever after. Jongdae grins, taking a sip from the coffee. Baekhyun wouldn’t be able to escape without being rude and Jongdae would leave with a girlfriend. Fool-proof.
“Geez, you’re drinking that so early in the morning?”
“Good morning,” Jongdae chirps happily as Baekhyun slides in the seat in front of him. Jongdae slides him a coffee; he had gotten it to stay on Baekhyun’s good side because after all, Baekhyun could decline to tell. “Sleep well?”
“I was till some idiot called me to have fucking coffee,” Baekhyun grumbles. “What is it that you want, Jongdae? I never knew we were good enough friends to call each other up like this. How’d you even get my number?”
Jongdae swats away his question. “I just need a favor.”
“First morning calls, coffee dates and now favors? We might as well be dating.”
Ignoring him, Jongdae continues. “The musical. You know everyone that’s on it, right? That’s what you theatre kids do, right? You’re family. Playing house 24/7, practically.”
“Almost everyone, yes,” Baekhyun replies slowly, watching Jongdae suspsicously. “What are you up to?”
Jongdae leans forwards, getting a hold of Baekhyun by his shoulders. “Juliet. Who plays her?”
Baekhyun looks confused for a moment, then he smirks, raising an eyebrow. “Juliet? Why’s that?”
He sits back down, sighing. “You’re kidding me, right? Have you seen her? That small face, those slender fingers. Tell me I’m not the only guy trying to get her number.”
“I don’t know. She’s not the type to just give out her phone number. Why don’t you just google her number like you did with mine?” Baekhyun shrugs, drawing circles on the table.
“I don’t even know her name. Give me her name and I might as well,” Jongdae groans, hoping he wasn’t sounding too much like a creep.
“Creep. Okay, okay, relax. I’ll tell you. I never thought you’d be gay though, Jongdae, so I do have to say I’m surprised.”
Jongdae thinks he heard wrong. “Huh? Gay?”
Baekhyun shakes his head. “Never mind. Juliet was played by…” He signals for Jongdae to lean in and he obliges, waiting to be blessed with an angel’s name. “…the one and only Byun Baekhyun.”
It processes, the name. Jongdae shoves Baekhyun aside who was in hysterics, holding his stomach from laughing so hard. “Dude, quit playing around! Who is it, really? Do you want more gum?”
Between laughter, Baekhyun shakes his head, waving his hand. “N-no, Jongdae. You’ve treated me well enough. I’m not joking, I played Juliet in the musical. Didn’t you ever wonder what role I played? Didn’t you notice you never saw me on stage? It’s because I was a fucking girl, Jongdae.” He pauses, staring at Jongdae before laughing again. “Oh my god, I can’t believe you have a crush on me! I mean, I know I’m good looking and all but - “
Jongdae stands up, speechless. “Forget it.” So he takes his drink and leaves Baekhyun to LOL himself into the afternoon.
Surely, it was a lie.
Byun Baekhyun was the type of person to pull this kind of stunt. Plus, Juliet was a cute and sassy loud-mouth with long and nice fingers…like Baekhyun. Jongdae shakes his head. No, this was a coincidence. But the image of Baekhyun smirk when Jongdae told him about Juliet and the replay of him grinning so widely was definitely not a lie.
Jongdae groans, running a hand through his hair. Did he? Did he like Baekhyun?
No, of course not. Baekhyun was merely the annoying kid in his English Lit class who just happened to be his musical ticket smuggler.
“You’ve been AWOL all weekend,” Chanyeol says come Monday morning at Jongdae’s locker. The tree grips onto his backpack straps when Jongdae slams his locker shut, glaring at him. “Our league team is suffering, Jongdae.”
“Tragic, really. I wish I could help but you and Kyungsoo are going to have to hold the roof down for a few days.”
“Come on. Kyungsoo got sick over the weekend. The flu or something.” Chanyeol blocks his path. “Play at least one game today. Please?”
Jongdae sighs. “Chanyeol, really. I’m too busy to play with you.”
“Is it Juliet? Are you still thinking about her? Are you dating her?” Chanyeol frowns, pouting as he made a face, kicking the ground. “I never thought you’d be the type to throw away his friends once he got a girlfriend. I’m sure Juliet won’t mind if you play just one round - “
“I’m not dating Juliet!” Jongdae yelps, making a few people in the hall turn around. “Listen, just give me a few days, okay? I’m just trying to figure out a few things.”
“Hey, Jongdae! Heading to English Lit?” The two of them turn to find the bright faced actor walking towards them, grinning from ear to ear. Jongdae feels himself heat up. Baekhyun must notice because he laughs, slinging an arm around Jongdae’s shoulders. “Aw, you’re cute when you’re nervous! No need to be shy, oppa will treat you well!”
“Hands off, Baekhyun,” Jongdae growls, brushing his arm off. “Shut the fuck up with ‘Oppa’; you’re using honorifics wrong.”
“Um, yeah, aren’t you a hyung…?” Chanyeol asks, curiously looking at the two in front of him.
“I guess so, but Jongdae can call me oppa if he pleases,” Baekhyun coos, slinging his arm back around Jongdae and pinches Jongdae’s cheek with his free hand.
“Right…” Chanyeol gives them a weird look before shuffling on his feet. “Anyways, just think about what I said, will you Jongdae?”
“Will do,” Baekhyun replies for him before turning them on their heel to walk in the opposite direction. “Did you do the homework, Jongdae dear? I hear prof is marking super hard on this one.” Others in the hall are beginning to stare as well. “What’s this you and Chanyeol buddy are arguing over? Juliet? Dating? Would you like to date me, Jongdae?”
“No, I don’t, Jongdae,” he shouts, pushing his arm off once again. “Look, I think you misunderstood something.”
Baekhyun shrugs. “What’s there to misunderstand? You liked Juliet and now you like me, because we’re the same person.” He whispers the last part, leaning forwards as he smiled widely.
“No, I thought Juliet was someone else. Now that I know that she isn’t who I thought she was, the feelings have already dispersed.” Jongdae continues walking down the hall, wondering when their English Lit class had gotten so far from his locker.
“Juliet is just a character, Jongdae,” Baekhyun continues, following after. “Wake up; I’m the real thing. Besides, you didn’t even waver that time we met backstage. Let’s just face it - you have a crush on Byun Baekhyun along with the entire girl population at SM University.”
“It’s just different now, okay?” Jongdae shouts, turning around, causing Baekhyun to stumble backwards a few steps. “It’s not the same.”
Baekhyun opens his mouth to reply but the door in front of them opens and their prof is filling the doorway, frowning. “Glad you boys could join us. Now if you’re done making a ruckus in the hallway when classes are in session, I’m sure the class would be thrilled for you guys to come in.”
Jongdae shoots a glare Baekhyun’s way, who is smiling at their prof sheepishly, before rushing into the already full class, finding an empty seat so that Baekhyun couldn’t sit near him.
"Chanyeol tells me you’re pretty close with Baekhyun these days,” Kyungsoo says after school as the two of them are walking home. “You know Chanyeol - you should be more careful what you say.”
Jongdae rolls his eyes. “Chanyeol needs to relax. I just told him I needed a few days to screw my head back on. And no, I’m not close with Baekhyun. He’s just being annoying.”
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen the two of you talk till after the musical.” Kyungsoo cocks his head to the side. “Something going on?”
“No,” Jongdae replies, kicking a rock on the ground. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay.”
And the both of them walk the rest of the way home in silence, not speaking again and Jongdae appreciated that for the first time within the week, he could breathe properly.
Jongdae likes Baekhyun.
He realizes this one day in English Lit (which thankfully was the only class they had together) when he catches himself staring at the back of Baekhyun’s head, his eyes tracing the line of his back curve and arch. Baekhyun had soft looking hair, and Jongdae finds himself wondering what it’d feel like if he ran his hand though it.
As if Baekhyun could sense the thoughts, he turns around and catches Jongdae’s eyes, his own orbs gleaming. He smiles and dreadfully, the bell rings, dismissing the class, letting Baekhyun slide out of his chair and make his way towards Jongdae’s desk.
Jongdae pretends to be busy with organizing his notebooks before putting them in his bag.
“Like the view?”
Jongdae doesn’t reply and continues putting in his pens in one at a time. Maybe if he took long enough to get his bag settled, Baekhyun would grow bored and leave. Jongdae knew there was a very slim chance but still, he was willing to take it.
Baekhyun props one hand on Jongdae’s desk, leaning against the workstation. “Listen, I have tickets to see The Nutcracker tomorrow. It’s a weird musical to be playing at this time but it’s one of my favourites. You want to come?”
“Are you asking me out?” Jongdae finally asks, staring at Baekhyun who shrugs casually.
“Take it as you may. I just need an answer.”
Jongdae finally zips up his backpack, standing up and slinging it over his shoulder. “Do you like me, Baekhyun? I mean, you keep teasing me for liking you but here you are, asking me out.”
Baekhyun smirks. “Ah, so you do like me. I was beginning to think that I had imagined everything.” Jongdae curses under his breath, stepping aside and around the older male, hoping for him to leave. But a part of him wanted him to stay too. “Well, you’re not to shabby, Jongdae. You’re a smart guy with a cute face. Plus, I’ve heard you singing in the shower rooms after the gym sometimes.”
His face heats up as Baekhyun catches up to him, walking beside him and letting his footsteps match Jongdae’s as they left the school building. “Thanks,” Jongdae replies sarcastically, making Baekhyun laugh.
“Okay, fine. I like you too, Jongdae.” Jongdae stops midwalk and turns to look at Baekhyun. He has a bright face but he looks sincere. Jongdae makes a face, causing Baekhyun to laugh again. “What, you think I’m lying? I like you; what’s so hard to believe about that?”
Jongdae doesn’t know what to say to that so instead, he just says yes to the invitation and walks the rest of the way home, his heart pounding in his ears.
“I mean LGD is a good team, I’m just saying that if they were the greatest, they wouldn’t be the second League team in China, you know?”
Kyungsoo groans at Chanyeol’s constant blabbering. “What do you think, Jongdae?”
“Hm?” Jongdae lifts his arm that was draped over his eyes, blinking a few times so his eyes could adjust to his dark room that was lit by the moon outside his window. He wasn’t sure why he had agreed to the three-way phone call when he wouldn’t be paying attention but he felt as if he owed his friends. “Sorry guys, I’m not really in it right now. What is it you guys are talking about?”
“You’ve been so distracted lately,” Chanyeol comments, and Jongdae can hear him tapping on his keyboard on the other end. “Something up?”
Jongdae takes a deep sigh, rubbing his forehead as he closed his eyes again. “Okay, listen. Remember Juliet? Turns out she’s not real. ‘She’ was played by none other than Byun Baekhyun.”
“No way,” the two on the other end echo in unison, gasping.
“Yup. And now I realize that I really fucking do like Baekhyun, despite his teasing, and he asked me to go to this musical tomorrow night.”
“I always thought something was up between you two,” Kyungsoo replies, pausing to think. “Okay, so, you’re dating now. Wow. Jongdae and that annoying kid from English Lit. Never thought I’d see the day.”
“How did this happen?” Jongdae groans, rolling around on his bed to flop onto his stomach. “It’s going to be real after tomorrow. If tomorrow goes badly, this relationship will crash before it even starts.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. You guys look cute together,” Chanyeol assures. “Are you really going to call him oppa now?” He whispers and Jongdae groans, ready to hang up as his two friends laugh over the line.
The night of the supposed date, Jongdae feels like he’s about to enter the examination room.
He is, kind of, because in a way, Baekhyun was examinating him. Like a species of some sort, trying to dictate if he was good enough to his boyfriend. Jongdae realizes that Baekhyun means more to him than he thought, because after 42 outfit changes, Jongdae was still nervous for what Baekhyun thought of him. He hadn’t felt like this for a long time - that heart skipping, tingling sensation of anxiety. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol text him words of encouragement but even that wasn’t enough.
Jongdae bits his lip as he waits in front of his house for Baekhyun’s car to roll up and for the date to officially start.
“You look nice,” is what Baekhyun says when Jongdae gets in his car.
“What’s your favourite song?” Baekhyun asks, turning on the radio while they drive to the theatre. He begins to sing along to the song and Jongdae thinks his voice is like honey.
“You have a nice voice,” Baekhyun comments when he catches Jongdae singing along with him.
At a red light, Baekhyun places his hand on Jongdae’s leg, running it up and down his thigh. “I’m glad we’re doing this.”
“We’re a good height,” Baekhyun says, looping his arms into Jongdae’s when the car is parked and they both get out, walking towards the theatre.
“This place is usually filled with snotty rich people so I don’t come here often but it’s okay because you’re here,” Baekhyun whispers once they’re seated, his breath tickiling Jongdae’s neck.
“Shh,” Baekhyun shushes when the lights dim, interrupting Jongdae.
No matter what it was that Baekhyun said or did, Jongdae felt his skin prickling and his heart quickening every time.
“So? How’d you like it?” Baekhyun asks once the crowd inside the auditorium begins to exit. Jongdae sighs, raising his eyebrows as his shifts his feet side to side. “I never really thought you’d be into musicals so I’m surprised you said yes. I was kind of nervous when I asked you.”
“I’m not really into musicals,” Jongdae admits, following him to the car.
“Oh? Then why’d you come? I thought you would be since you came to see the school musical twice.” Baekhyun holds out his hand and Jongdae takes it, tangling his fingers with Baekhyun’s.
“That was because of you.” Jongdae turns red as Baekhyun laughs. “Well, Juliet really.”
“Same thing; we went over this.” Baekhyun unlocks the door and the both of them let go of each other’s hands to get in, Baekhyun in the driver seat and Jongdae in the passenger. Jongdae feels jittery.
They both sit in silence for a second, Jongdae staring straight forwards. He wasn’t sure what to say next. Was this the dead end? Did they finally run out of things to talk about? Jongdae takes a deep breath, opening his mouth to say something as he turned to face Baekhyun but he’s cut short when Baekhyun leans forwards, planting his lips on Jongdae’s.
Jongdae tenses before relaxing against his touch, bringing his hand up to Baekhyun’s face to cup his cheek. Baekhyun tastes of tea, and sweets, his lips moving in sync to Jongdae’s. This couldn’t be happening, could it? Was he really kissing the guy he couldn’t stand weeks ago?
When they pull apart, Jongdae can’t help but grin as Baekhyun teasingly places his hand on Jongdae’s chest, his fingers tip toe-ing up towards the buttons his shirt. “Well, you know, Romeo, if you really like me dressed as a girl so much, we could do some roleplaying here and there…”
Jongdae groans as Baekhyun laughs. “Oh, shut up,” he replies before kissing Baekhyun again.
(Not that he’d mind but still. They’d talk about that some other time because right now, Jongdae just wanted to kiss Baekhyun.)
Title: truth is, juliet is actually a guy
Pairing: Jongdae/Baekhyun
Side Pairings: BFF!Jongdae/Kyungsoo/Chanyeol
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: curse words
Word count: 5.9k
Summary: Jongdae’s head over heels for the female lead in their school musical. He’s determined to be the Romeo for Juliet but she never seems to be around after the show so he asks Baekhyun, an annoying classmate in his English lit class who got him into this musical mess to begin with, to help. Only, he finds that Juliet is a.) a guy and b.) played by Baekhyun.
Author's note: A big thank you for the mods at Chenpionships for being so understanding and running this again; I had lots of fun writing for it last year and this year isn’t any different! Thank you to the prompter for giving such a great idea! It was entertaining to write this fic without really knowing how it’d end myself. Shoutout to P and Z for always being by my side! Another thank you to anyone who reads and comments - your love is always appreciated!
“Last day to get tickets for the school musical!”
Jongdae stares at the raven-haired boy who was standing on the lunch table in the middle of the cafeteria. He scoffs before picking at the carrots on his tray as the loudmouth continued to advertise for the play. Even if he sat at the lunch tables outside the school, he’d still be able to hear the guy shout.
“You’d think about all the times Baekhyun’s been yelled at by the teacher in class, he’d be a little more quiet,” Kyungsoo mutters and Jongdae hums in agreement.
“Hm, that’s right. Speaking of the musical…” Jongdae looks up at Chanyeol who chewed while pointing at him with his fork. “Are you going to go?”
Jongdae grimaces, glancing at Kyungsoo who sat beside him. “Why would I go? Those things are always so boring.”
“I heard this year’s musical is really good,” Kyungsoo pips. “It’s like a modern take on Romeo and Juliet.”
“Unoriginal,” Jongdae shoots, spooning some mashed potatoes in his mouth. Perhaps if they saw his mouth was full, they’d drop the subject. Everyone knows not to talk to someone who is currently try to shove steamed vegetables down his throat.
Well, everyone but Chanyeol and Kyungsoo because the two keep poking at the subject until Jongdae finally agrees to attend. The school bell rings just as Chanyeol nods and while Chanyeol whoops, Kyungsoo nods at the ticket stand that was beginning to clean up.
“You should go get your ticket before they leave.”
Jongdae nods but inside he’s growling. He was planning on watching SMTM4 this Thursday (even though he heard it was pretty whack so far and it was just the first episode); watching a musical was the last thing he wanted to do. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo have Biology with one of the strictest teachers so they say their goodbyes before hurrying to the lab - they had already gotten 31 detentions for being late and it was only February.
Jongdae walks up to the bright blue stand and grimaces at the big sign that was modeled like an iPhone with a text reading, ‘HEY JULIET, I REALLY LIKE YOU’. “Modern Romeo and Juliet can’t seriously be what the musical is, right?”
Baekhyun turns around and he grins. “Hey! Jungshik, right? I think…we have photography together?”
“Jongdae, and no, English Lit but do you have any tickets left?” He shoves his hands in his pockets and hopes for the loud-mouth to say they ran out. Which was impossible, of course, because no one cares about a dumb school musical enough to pay $8 for it.
He blows a raspberry. Jongdae feels a spec of his spit hit his cheek. “Well, Jonghyun, we actually sold out.” Unbelievable.
Jongdae heaves a sigh of relief. “Aw, man, that’s too bad. I really wanted to go. Thanks, anyways.” Jongdae turns to walk around the corner and throw himself a party assorted with the chocolates he stole off of Chanyeol’s lunch tray earlier but Baekhyun calls out to him.
“We really did sell out, but since you’re in my Journalism class, I think I can spot you one. We probably can squeeze in an extra spot just for you -“
“No, really, it’s okay!” Jongdae exclaims, smiling meekly before continuing out of the cafeteria.
“Man, that sucks.”
“Yeah, I wish I could go but,” Jongdae squints one eye and shoots the basketball at the hoop. It misses. “Sold out. Sorry, boys, you’ll just have to go the musical without the party of the trio. Besides, haven’t you heard ‘two is company, three is a crowd’?”
“Okay, firstly, I’m the party of the group and secondly, it’s not a date for me and Kyungsoo.” Chanyeol shades his eyes from the sun as he watches Kyungsoo run after the ball that had bounced off the court. “Besides, Kyungsoo looks like a troll next to me.”
“I’m telling.”
Chanyeol gives Jongdae a look just as someone calls out Jongdae’s name. The two turn just as Kyungsoo makes it back to the court and they see a figure on a bright red bike, pedaling towards them. Jongdae groans; he knows who it is before he sees the face.
“Is that - “
“Jongdae!” Baekhyun jumps off his bike, casting it aside as he runs towards the basketball court. “I had to ask everyone around where you were to give you this.”
He holds out a ticket, reading ‘HEY JULIET I REALLY LIKE YOU’ and Jongdae stares at the ticket, hoping to burn holes through it. Chanyeol towers over his shoulder while Kyungsoo peeks from the side.
“Hey, so they didn’t sell out,” Kyungsoo mutters.
“Actually, we did, but since Jongkey is in my Business class, I figured this was the least I could do.” Baekhyun gestures at the ticket which was still in his hand and Jongdae slowly raises his hands to get it. “No need to thank me.”
Jongdae wasn’t going to but still. “Thanks, anyways.”
“No problem!” Baekhyun shakes his head, his hair brushing back and forth his eyes. Jongdae presses his lips tight together as Baekhyun grinned at him, as if he was expecting something.
“Uh…?”
He grimaces. “So, uh, that’ll be $8.”
Jongdae considers faking sick on Thursday night.
He frowns, staring at the ticket on his table. Just tell them that he drank too much whiskey before the play so he could have a better time than he would without drinking and now he felt sick. No, he paid $8 for it; he could have gotten a large pizza with that. Plus, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were already on their way over so there was no backing out now.
Jongdae sighs, swinging his legs off the edge of the bed and walks over to the closet. How did you even dress for a musical? A t-shirt and jeans was too casual, right? But a suit probably wouldn’t be reasonable. Jongdae reaches over to pick up his phone.
“Hello? We just left the house.”
“What are you guys wearing?” Jongdae asks, frowning at the sweater he was holding. Too hot for this.
“Hm? What do you mean? Just wear something casual,” Kyungsoo replies. “Hold on - Chanyeol, I told you that EDM hurts my head. Oh my g - Hello? Jongdae? I’ll have to call you back.”
“Just tell me what you guys are weari - “ The line goes dead and Jongdae groans, throwing his phone onto his bed before scanning his room. Surely, there would be something for him to wear that was appropriate…He spots a red shirt hanging over his computer chair and picks it up, sniffing it to see if there was a scent. He cocks his head to the side. Some body spray should make everything fine.
“Are you a pre-teen? Why are you asking me if what you’re wearing is okay?” Chanyeol laughs as the three drive out of Jongdae’s street. “Since when do you care what others think of what you’re wearing.”
Jongdae chuckles nervously. He supposes he was right. But deep down, Jongdae thinks anyone who says they don’t care what others think of them is lying, even if it’s just a teeny tiny bit because when someone compliments you, it’s an acknowledgement. And who doesn’t like to be acknowledged?
Jongdae tugs on his variety jacket and slinks down a little in the backseat as Kyungsoo and Chanyeol break out into an argument about whose job it was to remember to bring the tickets.
(They had to go back to Chanyeol’s house to pick up the forgotten tickets.)
Anyone who took English Lit knew how Romeo and Juliet went. Anyone who took English period, knew how Romeo and Juliet went. Who didn’t? The movie was a classic and so popular to the point that people compared couples to the two (idiots, because everyone dies, duh).
This is why Jongdae was a little surprised at how he was actually watching the musical.
Or rather, watching Juliet.
“Dude, she’s fucking hot,” Jongdae whispers as Juliet lays down in bed, texting Romeo about how much fun she had at the party. Her long sleek hair feel down past her shoulders, a little bit over her…chest. Jongdae coughs. “Where have I seen her before? I wouldn’t have forgotten a face like that.”
Kyungsoo looks over at him and raises an eyebrow. “Who?”
Jongdae nods at the stage. “Who plays Juliet?”
Kyungsoo suddenly breaks out in a grin, nudging Chanyeol. “Bro, Jongdae has the hots for Juliet.”
Chanyeol leans over, eyes wide. “Juliet? Isn’t that role played by - “ Kyungsoo elbows him and Jongdae leans in, yearning for the ending to the sentence.
“Who? Who is it played by?”
Kyungsoo laughs, looking back up at stage. “Oh, it’s someone who’s very close to you.”
Jongdae settles back in his seat, uncertain about his friend’s answer. Either way, Jongdae was going to try to catch Juliet backstage later, and ask out his ideal girl. On stage, Juliet stands up from the fake bed (made out of ugly cardboard; who was on the horrible ?). Jongdae sits back in his seat, in awe from Juliet’s body form - she was slim and slender, with a small frame.
“Do you know where I can find Juliet?” Jongdae finds himself asking later after the musical ends. The technician shakes his head and Jongdae tsk’s quietly. He continues peeking in rooms behind the stage and finally sees a big group of people. Jongdae goes on his tippy toes, moving around the crowd to see that the group was nevertheless Juliet’s fanclub.
“Yah, since when did you like romance?” Someone (probably a close friend of hers) asks and a familiar laugh echoes through the room.
“Aigoo,” she coos, rolling her eyes. “Everyone but you likes romance. You just don’t like romance because you never experience it,” she replies and the group bubbles with laughter. Jongdae finds himself smiling as well.
“Juliet!” A boy from the crowd grabs her hands and kneels down. “I’m in love with you! Will you marry me?”
Jongdae glares at the figure, growling under his breath. Surely Juliet doesn’t have a boyfriend? But Juliet laughs lightly before taking back her pretty fingers. “You’re making me blush. Really!”
“Nobody is lying. You did a great job tonight.” All eyes turn to Jongdae as Juliet stares at him, a little taken aback.
“Oh! Jongdae!” She then shyly laughs. (Score.) “It’s not really acting if you’re pretending someone else is Romeo, right?”
She knows his name! Jongdae takes a gulp of air as everyone chimes in agreement. As his heart begins to race, his phone vibrates and he checks it only to find that if he didn’t come to the parking lot in ten seconds, Chanyeol would be driving home without him. Jongdae groans, wishing for more reliable friends when it came to love. He shoves his phone back into his pocket, slowly nudging through the crowd to find his way to the parking lot.
It didn’t matter. Jongdae was going to find out who Juliet was just so he could be her Romeo (dumb because everyone died but…) even if that meant asking each girl in his school.
The next day in Calculus, Jongdae finds himself doodling hearts with JONGDAE + JULIET on the inside.
I’m so fucked, Jongdae thinks, ripping out the page and crumpling it up before throwing it in the garbage can. He sits up, scanning the classroom. His Juliet was probably sitting in this very classroom. He looks over to the girl next to him and studies her hair. Looked about right.
“Hey, Junghee.” He leans over her desk, making her look at him curiously. “You did great in the play last night,” Jongdae tries. The girl’s slightly amused face then turns sour.
“Was that dumb musical last night? I can’t believe you actually paid money to watch that shit.”
Jongdae laughs awkwardly before sitting back down in his seat. Obviously she was not Juliet. Jongdae peeks at her fingers. Oh yeah, definitely not Juliet.
He looks around the classroom again. He groans. Practically every other girl in his class had ‘long and sleek black hair’. He slides out of his seat and walks over to a girl he knew was also in his Chemistry class. Her hair looked about the right length.
“Hanbyul!” Jongdae exclaims, interrupting her discussion she was having with her friends. “Uh, do you possibly have a pencil I can borrow?”
She gives him a look and shakes her head. “You still don’t bring pencils to class, Jongdae?”
Jongdae laughs nervously, glancing at her fingers. Long and thin. Seemed about right. Slowly, his eyes trail up her milky arms and they land on her chest. Jongdae cocks his head to the side, studying the size. About a B cup? Was Juliet a B cup? Jongdae couldn’t tell from being so far from the stage. His eyes move up to her face, only to find her gawking at him, eyes lit with fire and mouth hung open.
“Jongdae!” She shouts, standing up. Fuck, he just got busted for checking out her rack. Oh god, she looks mortified. “W-wha - you pervert!” She yelps, grabbing her backpack from the ground and begins to hit Jongdae once, twice and three times.
He’s chased out of the classroom and locked out, making him sigh, leaning against the wall. Was it really this hard for Romeo to find Juliet at the party? Probably not.
“What are you doing out of class?”
Jongdae stands straight at the voice to find Baekhyun walking up to him from the end of the hallway. “Oh, Baekhyun. Um, nothing. Just, girls, man.” Baekhyun makes an ‘ah’ sound in agreement. “Speaking of girls, do you have any extra tickets for tonight’s musical? There’s another show tonight, no?”
Baekhyun smirks. “Why? I thought you didn’t like musicals.”
“So you do?” Jongdae fishes in his pocket for his wallet. “Come on. For your friend in English Lit. It was $8, right? Fuck, I have $6 and a pack of gum. You’ll take that, yeah? Because I’m your friend from English Lit?”
“You don’t need a ticket, Jongdae. Just sneak through the back. I’ll say you’re with me.”
Jongdae considers asking Baekhyun to be his wingman but thinks better of it and says thanks instead.
“What do you mean you’re busy?” Chanyeol asks that night as Jongdae walks up the school parking lot. “What could be more important than League on Friday night?”
“Listen, I’ll call you back, okay? Just hold down the roof with Kyungsoo for a few hours.”
“A few hours?”
Jongdae doesn’t give Chanyeol enough time to complain and hangs up, entering the school building. If he found out Jongdae was coming to the musical he supposedly hated a second time, he’d never hear the end of it. He knocks on the back door to the stage and a boy opens it, eyeing him up and down.
“I’m with Baekhyun,” Jongdae explains at the guy raises his eyebrows but still steps aside for him to walk in.
The backstage is alit, Jongdae realizes, when he walks further down the corridor. Costumes, last minute practicing, and set drops - it’s a world that Jongdae hasn’t seen before. He walks through the busy crowd, finding the door that led to the audience seating and found a seat close to the front.
Hopefully, he’d catch Juliet alone today.
Sunlight greets Jongdae the next morning, reminding him that he was a failure.
He groans, rolling around in bed. Yesterday night as a disaster. Where the hell could have she have disappeared to so quickly last night without him noticing? Jongdae sighs, muffling his annoyed groans in his pillow before pushing off the covers and making his way to the washroom.
He brushes his teeth while going through the few hundred texts Kyungsoo and Chanyeol had sent him that night, claiming he was a betrayer and had sabotage them for leaving them last night. He rolls his eyes, closing the page to open up his Facebook, scrolling through his News Feed to see how everyone else was spending their Saturday morning.
Kim Junmyeon: Going for a jog! Love breathing in that fresh air in the early morning with the birds singing sweet songs~
Yoon Bomi: Resting during the holiday is over now.. Time to get up ㅜㅜ
Oh Sehun: Keke, guys, check out this cover of Reflection in Mulan! Keke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3P6YXEAvS4
Byun Baekhyun: Last night’s performance was probably the best! Thank you to all that came, I hope you enjoy the show!
Jongdae’s finger hovers over Baekhyun’s Facebook name and taps on it, loading his profile. Studies Theatre Art at SM University, From Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, and Born May 6th 1992. Yes, yes, and yes: these were all things that Jongdae already knew (don’t ask him how because he wasn’t entirely sure himself). He clicks on Baekhyun’s photos and it takes him to an album titled Romeo and Juliet: The Musical. Ah, yes, this was what Jongdae was looking for.
Photos of background drops, fellow actors and actresses and even the Theatre Art’s teacher here and there but none, not one photo of the supposed Juliet. Frustrated, Jongdae looks for Baekhyun number and calls him without thinking.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Baekhyun. It’s Jongdae.”
“God. Our last show was yesterday if you’re calling for tickets. I know my acting is good and really sold the show with how I played - “
“That’s not why I called. I need to ask you something. You free in an hour?”
There’s a pause on the other end. “I guess. An hour you said?”
An hour later, Jongdae sits under the green umbrella of Starbucks, clutching his coffee Frappuccino as he bounced his leg, waiting for Baekhyun. Of course he’d know, right? Right after Jongdae finds out who Juliet was played by, he’d ask Baekhyun to call her, ask her to meet him here and they’d fall in love happily ever after. Jongdae grins, taking a sip from the coffee. Baekhyun wouldn’t be able to escape without being rude and Jongdae would leave with a girlfriend. Fool-proof.
“Geez, you’re drinking that so early in the morning?”
“Good morning,” Jongdae chirps happily as Baekhyun slides in the seat in front of him. Jongdae slides him a coffee; he had gotten it to stay on Baekhyun’s good side because after all, Baekhyun could decline to tell. “Sleep well?”
“I was till some idiot called me to have fucking coffee,” Baekhyun grumbles. “What is it that you want, Jongdae? I never knew we were good enough friends to call each other up like this. How’d you even get my number?”
Jongdae swats away his question. “I just need a favor.”
“First morning calls, coffee dates and now favors? We might as well be dating.”
Ignoring him, Jongdae continues. “The musical. You know everyone that’s on it, right? That’s what you theatre kids do, right? You’re family. Playing house 24/7, practically.”
“Almost everyone, yes,” Baekhyun replies slowly, watching Jongdae suspsicously. “What are you up to?”
Jongdae leans forwards, getting a hold of Baekhyun by his shoulders. “Juliet. Who plays her?”
Baekhyun looks confused for a moment, then he smirks, raising an eyebrow. “Juliet? Why’s that?”
He sits back down, sighing. “You’re kidding me, right? Have you seen her? That small face, those slender fingers. Tell me I’m not the only guy trying to get her number.”
“I don’t know. She’s not the type to just give out her phone number. Why don’t you just google her number like you did with mine?” Baekhyun shrugs, drawing circles on the table.
“I don’t even know her name. Give me her name and I might as well,” Jongdae groans, hoping he wasn’t sounding too much like a creep.
“Creep. Okay, okay, relax. I’ll tell you. I never thought you’d be gay though, Jongdae, so I do have to say I’m surprised.”
Jongdae thinks he heard wrong. “Huh? Gay?”
Baekhyun shakes his head. “Never mind. Juliet was played by…” He signals for Jongdae to lean in and he obliges, waiting to be blessed with an angel’s name. “…the one and only Byun Baekhyun.”
It processes, the name. Jongdae shoves Baekhyun aside who was in hysterics, holding his stomach from laughing so hard. “Dude, quit playing around! Who is it, really? Do you want more gum?”
Between laughter, Baekhyun shakes his head, waving his hand. “N-no, Jongdae. You’ve treated me well enough. I’m not joking, I played Juliet in the musical. Didn’t you ever wonder what role I played? Didn’t you notice you never saw me on stage? It’s because I was a fucking girl, Jongdae.” He pauses, staring at Jongdae before laughing again. “Oh my god, I can’t believe you have a crush on me! I mean, I know I’m good looking and all but - “
Jongdae stands up, speechless. “Forget it.” So he takes his drink and leaves Baekhyun to LOL himself into the afternoon.
Surely, it was a lie.
Byun Baekhyun was the type of person to pull this kind of stunt. Plus, Juliet was a cute and sassy loud-mouth with long and nice fingers…like Baekhyun. Jongdae shakes his head. No, this was a coincidence. But the image of Baekhyun smirk when Jongdae told him about Juliet and the replay of him grinning so widely was definitely not a lie.
Jongdae groans, running a hand through his hair. Did he? Did he like Baekhyun?
No, of course not. Baekhyun was merely the annoying kid in his English Lit class who just happened to be his musical ticket smuggler.
“You’ve been AWOL all weekend,” Chanyeol says come Monday morning at Jongdae’s locker. The tree grips onto his backpack straps when Jongdae slams his locker shut, glaring at him. “Our league team is suffering, Jongdae.”
“Tragic, really. I wish I could help but you and Kyungsoo are going to have to hold the roof down for a few days.”
“Come on. Kyungsoo got sick over the weekend. The flu or something.” Chanyeol blocks his path. “Play at least one game today. Please?”
Jongdae sighs. “Chanyeol, really. I’m too busy to play with you.”
“Is it Juliet? Are you still thinking about her? Are you dating her?” Chanyeol frowns, pouting as he made a face, kicking the ground. “I never thought you’d be the type to throw away his friends once he got a girlfriend. I’m sure Juliet won’t mind if you play just one round - “
“I’m not dating Juliet!” Jongdae yelps, making a few people in the hall turn around. “Listen, just give me a few days, okay? I’m just trying to figure out a few things.”
“Hey, Jongdae! Heading to English Lit?” The two of them turn to find the bright faced actor walking towards them, grinning from ear to ear. Jongdae feels himself heat up. Baekhyun must notice because he laughs, slinging an arm around Jongdae’s shoulders. “Aw, you’re cute when you’re nervous! No need to be shy, oppa will treat you well!”
“Hands off, Baekhyun,” Jongdae growls, brushing his arm off. “Shut the fuck up with ‘Oppa’; you’re using honorifics wrong.”
“Um, yeah, aren’t you a hyung…?” Chanyeol asks, curiously looking at the two in front of him.
“I guess so, but Jongdae can call me oppa if he pleases,” Baekhyun coos, slinging his arm back around Jongdae and pinches Jongdae’s cheek with his free hand.
“Right…” Chanyeol gives them a weird look before shuffling on his feet. “Anyways, just think about what I said, will you Jongdae?”
“Will do,” Baekhyun replies for him before turning them on their heel to walk in the opposite direction. “Did you do the homework, Jongdae dear? I hear prof is marking super hard on this one.” Others in the hall are beginning to stare as well. “What’s this you and Chanyeol buddy are arguing over? Juliet? Dating? Would you like to date me, Jongdae?”
“No, I don’t, Jongdae,” he shouts, pushing his arm off once again. “Look, I think you misunderstood something.”
Baekhyun shrugs. “What’s there to misunderstand? You liked Juliet and now you like me, because we’re the same person.” He whispers the last part, leaning forwards as he smiled widely.
“No, I thought Juliet was someone else. Now that I know that she isn’t who I thought she was, the feelings have already dispersed.” Jongdae continues walking down the hall, wondering when their English Lit class had gotten so far from his locker.
“Juliet is just a character, Jongdae,” Baekhyun continues, following after. “Wake up; I’m the real thing. Besides, you didn’t even waver that time we met backstage. Let’s just face it - you have a crush on Byun Baekhyun along with the entire girl population at SM University.”
“It’s just different now, okay?” Jongdae shouts, turning around, causing Baekhyun to stumble backwards a few steps. “It’s not the same.”
Baekhyun opens his mouth to reply but the door in front of them opens and their prof is filling the doorway, frowning. “Glad you boys could join us. Now if you’re done making a ruckus in the hallway when classes are in session, I’m sure the class would be thrilled for you guys to come in.”
Jongdae shoots a glare Baekhyun’s way, who is smiling at their prof sheepishly, before rushing into the already full class, finding an empty seat so that Baekhyun couldn’t sit near him.
"Chanyeol tells me you’re pretty close with Baekhyun these days,” Kyungsoo says after school as the two of them are walking home. “You know Chanyeol - you should be more careful what you say.”
Jongdae rolls his eyes. “Chanyeol needs to relax. I just told him I needed a few days to screw my head back on. And no, I’m not close with Baekhyun. He’s just being annoying.”
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen the two of you talk till after the musical.” Kyungsoo cocks his head to the side. “Something going on?”
“No,” Jongdae replies, kicking a rock on the ground. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay.”
And the both of them walk the rest of the way home in silence, not speaking again and Jongdae appreciated that for the first time within the week, he could breathe properly.
Jongdae likes Baekhyun.
He realizes this one day in English Lit (which thankfully was the only class they had together) when he catches himself staring at the back of Baekhyun’s head, his eyes tracing the line of his back curve and arch. Baekhyun had soft looking hair, and Jongdae finds himself wondering what it’d feel like if he ran his hand though it.
As if Baekhyun could sense the thoughts, he turns around and catches Jongdae’s eyes, his own orbs gleaming. He smiles and dreadfully, the bell rings, dismissing the class, letting Baekhyun slide out of his chair and make his way towards Jongdae’s desk.
Jongdae pretends to be busy with organizing his notebooks before putting them in his bag.
“Like the view?”
Jongdae doesn’t reply and continues putting in his pens in one at a time. Maybe if he took long enough to get his bag settled, Baekhyun would grow bored and leave. Jongdae knew there was a very slim chance but still, he was willing to take it.
Baekhyun props one hand on Jongdae’s desk, leaning against the workstation. “Listen, I have tickets to see The Nutcracker tomorrow. It’s a weird musical to be playing at this time but it’s one of my favourites. You want to come?”
“Are you asking me out?” Jongdae finally asks, staring at Baekhyun who shrugs casually.
“Take it as you may. I just need an answer.”
Jongdae finally zips up his backpack, standing up and slinging it over his shoulder. “Do you like me, Baekhyun? I mean, you keep teasing me for liking you but here you are, asking me out.”
Baekhyun smirks. “Ah, so you do like me. I was beginning to think that I had imagined everything.” Jongdae curses under his breath, stepping aside and around the older male, hoping for him to leave. But a part of him wanted him to stay too. “Well, you’re not to shabby, Jongdae. You’re a smart guy with a cute face. Plus, I’ve heard you singing in the shower rooms after the gym sometimes.”
His face heats up as Baekhyun catches up to him, walking beside him and letting his footsteps match Jongdae’s as they left the school building. “Thanks,” Jongdae replies sarcastically, making Baekhyun laugh.
“Okay, fine. I like you too, Jongdae.” Jongdae stops midwalk and turns to look at Baekhyun. He has a bright face but he looks sincere. Jongdae makes a face, causing Baekhyun to laugh again. “What, you think I’m lying? I like you; what’s so hard to believe about that?”
Jongdae doesn’t know what to say to that so instead, he just says yes to the invitation and walks the rest of the way home, his heart pounding in his ears.
“I mean LGD is a good team, I’m just saying that if they were the greatest, they wouldn’t be the second League team in China, you know?”
Kyungsoo groans at Chanyeol’s constant blabbering. “What do you think, Jongdae?”
“Hm?” Jongdae lifts his arm that was draped over his eyes, blinking a few times so his eyes could adjust to his dark room that was lit by the moon outside his window. He wasn’t sure why he had agreed to the three-way phone call when he wouldn’t be paying attention but he felt as if he owed his friends. “Sorry guys, I’m not really in it right now. What is it you guys are talking about?”
“You’ve been so distracted lately,” Chanyeol comments, and Jongdae can hear him tapping on his keyboard on the other end. “Something up?”
Jongdae takes a deep sigh, rubbing his forehead as he closed his eyes again. “Okay, listen. Remember Juliet? Turns out she’s not real. ‘She’ was played by none other than Byun Baekhyun.”
“No way,” the two on the other end echo in unison, gasping.
“Yup. And now I realize that I really fucking do like Baekhyun, despite his teasing, and he asked me to go to this musical tomorrow night.”
“I always thought something was up between you two,” Kyungsoo replies, pausing to think. “Okay, so, you’re dating now. Wow. Jongdae and that annoying kid from English Lit. Never thought I’d see the day.”
“How did this happen?” Jongdae groans, rolling around on his bed to flop onto his stomach. “It’s going to be real after tomorrow. If tomorrow goes badly, this relationship will crash before it even starts.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. You guys look cute together,” Chanyeol assures. “Are you really going to call him oppa now?” He whispers and Jongdae groans, ready to hang up as his two friends laugh over the line.
The night of the supposed date, Jongdae feels like he’s about to enter the examination room.
He is, kind of, because in a way, Baekhyun was examinating him. Like a species of some sort, trying to dictate if he was good enough to his boyfriend. Jongdae realizes that Baekhyun means more to him than he thought, because after 42 outfit changes, Jongdae was still nervous for what Baekhyun thought of him. He hadn’t felt like this for a long time - that heart skipping, tingling sensation of anxiety. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol text him words of encouragement but even that wasn’t enough.
Jongdae bits his lip as he waits in front of his house for Baekhyun’s car to roll up and for the date to officially start.
“You look nice,” is what Baekhyun says when Jongdae gets in his car.
“What’s your favourite song?” Baekhyun asks, turning on the radio while they drive to the theatre. He begins to sing along to the song and Jongdae thinks his voice is like honey.
“You have a nice voice,” Baekhyun comments when he catches Jongdae singing along with him.
At a red light, Baekhyun places his hand on Jongdae’s leg, running it up and down his thigh. “I’m glad we’re doing this.”
“We’re a good height,” Baekhyun says, looping his arms into Jongdae’s when the car is parked and they both get out, walking towards the theatre.
“This place is usually filled with snotty rich people so I don’t come here often but it’s okay because you’re here,” Baekhyun whispers once they’re seated, his breath tickiling Jongdae’s neck.
“Shh,” Baekhyun shushes when the lights dim, interrupting Jongdae.
No matter what it was that Baekhyun said or did, Jongdae felt his skin prickling and his heart quickening every time.
“So? How’d you like it?” Baekhyun asks once the crowd inside the auditorium begins to exit. Jongdae sighs, raising his eyebrows as his shifts his feet side to side. “I never really thought you’d be into musicals so I’m surprised you said yes. I was kind of nervous when I asked you.”
“I’m not really into musicals,” Jongdae admits, following him to the car.
“Oh? Then why’d you come? I thought you would be since you came to see the school musical twice.” Baekhyun holds out his hand and Jongdae takes it, tangling his fingers with Baekhyun’s.
“That was because of you.” Jongdae turns red as Baekhyun laughs. “Well, Juliet really.”
“Same thing; we went over this.” Baekhyun unlocks the door and the both of them let go of each other’s hands to get in, Baekhyun in the driver seat and Jongdae in the passenger. Jongdae feels jittery.
They both sit in silence for a second, Jongdae staring straight forwards. He wasn’t sure what to say next. Was this the dead end? Did they finally run out of things to talk about? Jongdae takes a deep breath, opening his mouth to say something as he turned to face Baekhyun but he’s cut short when Baekhyun leans forwards, planting his lips on Jongdae’s.
Jongdae tenses before relaxing against his touch, bringing his hand up to Baekhyun’s face to cup his cheek. Baekhyun tastes of tea, and sweets, his lips moving in sync to Jongdae’s. This couldn’t be happening, could it? Was he really kissing the guy he couldn’t stand weeks ago?
When they pull apart, Jongdae can’t help but grin as Baekhyun teasingly places his hand on Jongdae’s chest, his fingers tip toe-ing up towards the buttons his shirt. “Well, you know, Romeo, if you really like me dressed as a girl so much, we could do some roleplaying here and there…”
Jongdae groans as Baekhyun laughs. “Oh, shut up,” he replies before kissing Baekhyun again.
(Not that he’d mind but still. They’d talk about that some other time because right now, Jongdae just wanted to kiss Baekhyun.)