LOVE KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES...CHAPTER 21.1/36
Title: Love Knows No Boundaries
Author: tikibuddy91
Characters: EXO (minus Minseok, mention of Wufan), BAP (minus Junhong), SECRET (Jieun with mention of Hyosung), JB, SISTAR (Dasom), B1A4 (Gongchan), and f(x) (Sunyoung)
Word Count: ~6830
Genre: AU, Humor, Drama
Rating: PG-13
Summary: College students; Blind, Deaf and Mute. Their lives deal with the ups and downs, like a roller coaster. They find relationships, and companionships. Life does not always have a happy ending, but they can try to get their own.
Author Note: Hey y'all~~ I'm back! It's been a while, but this part and the next part of the chapter will be worth waiting for all these weeks. And it's not even over yet~ :) If you remember, the previous chapter left you hanging with Jongdae reading the message that Yixing has written for him after delivering such a sweet serenade for him in the cafe. How will Jongdae react? owo
(OTL, I should make a masterlist...but I've only written two fics... LOL)
Sign Language Guide
Families
Chapter 20 Part 1 | Chapter 20 Part 2 | Chapter 20 Part 3 |
Jongdae takes a moment to read the line over and over again, at loss for words.
Memories come to his mind not in visual forms but in countless conversations…
- - - -
“Hello there.”
Sitting in one of his high school classrooms, Jongdae continued to face ahead as he sat at his desk chair, eating his lunch sandwich alone. There were sounds of small chatters from several classmates in the classroom. He did not mind as most of the other classmates had their lunch breaks outside of the classroom, finding the environment to be relaxing and less distracting. Jongdae had gotten around by himself in the schools he attended, mostly with the help of his walking stick, sometimes with the help of his sister, so solitude was not an issue for him.
A clean, fresh scent of lemon filled Jongdae’s nose. He did not recognize the voice nearby, for it did not match with any of his classmates’ voices that he so often heard. And so he did not bother to say anything, assuming the speaker was talking to anyone but him.
Jongdae detected a prominent Chinese accent behind the voice. He thought to himself, There’s a Chinese student in our class? … When did we have a Ch-
A gentle touch on his shoulder…
Stopping mid-chew, Jongdae furrowed his brow in confusion while he slowly turned his head to the sensation on his shoulder.
“Hi, my name is Zhang Yixing.” It was the same gentle voice Jongdae heard for the second time in a row, somewhere above his head. Jongdae finished chewing his sandwich before swallowing it.
“H-hi…” Jongdae could safely assume that the person was standing, so he nervously looked up to where he thought the person’s face would be. Little did he know he was facing Yixing, his aim was not too far off from Yixing’s face.
“What’s your name?”
“Er…J-Jongdae. I mean, Lee Jongdae.”
“Nice to meet you, Lee Zhongda.” Jongdae detected Yixing’s strong accent, and how it had almost altered the entire pronunciation of his name, leaving him fascinated with his new name. Lowering his sandwich promptly onto his desk, he wiped his hands free of crumbs before he politely lifted one of his hands. A warm hand enveloped his hand and Jongdae found himself shaking hands with Yixing. After the handshake, Jongdae noticed that Yixing continued to hold it for a little longer with a looser grip.
This is a little too long for a handshake, Jongdae thinks to himself.
“Do you mind having some company for lunch?”
“O-oh…uhm. No, go right ahead. Have a seat…erm…somewhere. I usually eat alone, but I don’t mind…having…some…company.” Jongdae said haltingly, feeling slightly awkward. He refused to acknowledge the pace of his heartbeat quickening in his chest.
“Heh, thanks.” As Yixing let go of Jongdae’s hand, he smiled at him and seated himself in the empty desk next to Jongdae. “I’m 17, by the way.”
“Oh, I’m 16.” Jongdae smiled lightheartedly as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt with one of his hands, feeling nervous with the state that he is in. A year above me, that’s why I didn’t recognize his voice… he thought to himself.
“Ahh, I’m older than you.” Jongdae detected a hint of amusement in Yixing’s voice. “You can call me ‘hyung’, or ‘gege’ if you want.”
“Actually…I’m part-Chinese, part-Korean.” Unbeknownst to Jongdae, Yixing reacts with a look of astonishment before it changes to a look of admiration. Jongdae continued on, “So at my house, my family and I speak both languages. Can I call you ‘gege’, then?”
“Whatever you want~” Yixing said in Chinese, almost in a singsong manner, happy to have made a new friend.
Having understood that, Jongdae felt a smile creeping on his face. He wondered why of all these days in his early years of high school, was this the day Zhang Yixing come up to meet him that day. Unfortunately, their chat was short-lived as the bell rang soon afterwards, signaling that class is about to begin.
- - - -
Jongdae’s answer comes not too late nor too soon after their first meeting.
At the cafeteria during lunch, Jongdae was by himself once again, eating Minseok’s homemade noodle soup, thinking back to the day when he first met Yixing. He had not heard from Yixing since that day, and now, he felt strangely alone, wishing that his friend would join him a little more often for lunch.
Just then, among the loud chatters of students, a voice was heard louder than the others. It was coming from none other than the person standing in front of Jongdae on the other side of the table.
“Hi Zhongda, I’ve noticed you’re eating by yourself a lot. Sometimes I see you eating with a girl, whom I assume is your younger sister. It seems to me that she may have a different lunch period, so I thought I’d like to accompany you for lunch. Do you mind?”
At first, Jongdae furrowed his brow upon hearing the voice, frowning a little. Suddenly, he brightened and nodded, recognizing the owner of the voice. There was a wonderful feeling inside his chest that was threatening to burst.
“Th-“
“Actually…”
Jongdae’s throat hitched at the sudden interruption, his face slightly dropping, and waited for Yixing to finish.
“I was thinking…if I could be your friend from now on. You really seem like a genuine person, and I’d like to get to know you more. I have some friends, but most of them don’t attend this school, except for my brother. Plus, I see you around in school almost every day; it’s not that hard to miss the only blind student in here. But…you don’t look like you have many friends. I mean, you might have some classmates but…I don’t see you hanging out with them or vice versa…”
Jongdae did not say anything, feeling a little confused at Yixing’s rambling. He let Yixing explain more.
“It’s just…you caught my eye a few months back and it’s rare that we walk past each other in the halls. I have been wanting to talk to you but I end up watching you from a distance. Oh geez, I sound like a creeper. Sorry, Zhongda…I honestly do not have any wrongful intention. I really do want to be your friend even though we just met a few days ago, please understand.” Still confused, Jongdae nodded a bit too excitedly, wanting to understand what point Yixing was trying to make.
“You know, you always have this smile on your face everywhere you go, and it makes my day every time I see it. But, strangely, I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem complete without having a friend walking with you. Life is meant to be enjoyed everyday, but it shouldn’t always have to be enjoyed alone, you know what I mean?”
Jongdae slowly nodded, still unsure of Yixing’s vague speech, before he brought himself to answer.
“Y…yes, I think I know what you mean, Yixing-ge. Uhm…it may seem that I hang out with my classmates but the truth is that I’m not that great of a social person, I’m not one to have a lengthy conversation with people. That’s why I usually walk around in the halls without people around me… And, I think most people feel uncomfortable talking with me because they want to have my full attention. Even though I cannot see how they are expressing, and I do often misunderstand their tones, it just feels very awkward for the both of us.”
“So…I can’t be your friend?”
“I…” Jongdae’s voice faltered upon hearing the defeated tone in Yixing’s voice, though it did not sound like a resigned statement but of a careful
question.
“I…well…no. I mean, yes, wait no.” Yixing blinked as he watched Jongdae stammering. Oh crap, this isn’t how I wanted things to go, Jongdae panicked.
“I mean, I rea-…I w-want you to be my f-friend…er, that is…if you want to be my friend. I mean, I didn’t mean to sound like I hate you or dislike you or anything for that matter…it’s just…” Jongdae fumbled with his chopsticks in his bowl, desperately trying to make a sound point. He took a deep breath.
“I’d want you to be careful with what you say, because you may say it now that you can be my friend, but you probably won’t me-“
Yixing chuckled lightly. “I want to be your friend, is that too much to ask, Zhongda?”
Jongdae’s mouth dropped slightly open at the sincerity of Yixing’s demand. He heard a sound of bone hitting the table, feeling a slight reverberation on the surface, and a metal creaking sound from below.
“That was my knee just now…hahaha, sorry, I’m a bit clumsy sometimes,” Yixing said with an airy laugh, as he seated himself across from Jongdae at the table bench. Seems like Yixing-ge won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, Jongdae thought to himself.
Jongdae suddenly jumped at the physical contact as he felt Yixing’s warm hand over his free hand.
Yixing smiled at Jongdae’s reaction, and continued to hold his hand. Seeing the faint blush on Jongdae’s cheeks, he chuckled and said to him,
“Zhongda…I’ll be your gege, your friend, and your escort around here in school and outside of school. Is that okay with you?”
“Uh…wha…er…” Jongdae stammered, taken aback at Yixing’s sudden offer.
“Oppa!” Sunyoung’s voice was heard from Jongdae’s left. Jongdae mentally thanked Sunyoung for the interruption so he could think about the offer later. “Oppa, who are you eating with? Is he your friend?” Jongdae heard and felt Sunyoung settling down next to his left. He could smell the warm noodles from his left, and he knew that Sunyoung was just starting to eat Minseok’s homemade noodle soup.
“Erm…Sunyoung-ah…”
“Hello, my name is Zhang Yixing, your brother’s friend. I’m in my third year here.”
“Oh, hello, Yixing-sshi!” Sunyoung warmly greeted Yixing. “I’m Kim Sunyoung, Jongdae’s younger sister. That makes you my oppa or wait, maybe gege.” She giggled before glancing at the intertwined hands on the table.
“But…why are you two holding hands? Are you two more than friends?” Sunyoung looked between her brother and Yixing.
Jongdae spluttered before quickly removing his hand from Yixing’s grasp. “Wha- no! Sunyoung-ah, it’s not what it looks like! I…he…well…it’s jus-”
Yixing’s chuckles interrupted Jongdae’s stammering. “No, it’s not like that, Sunyoung-ah. You see, I met him a few days ago, but I haven’t seen him since, until today. I just offered to be his friend-slash-escort around school, and outside of school, and I’d like to know if that is okay with Zhongda here.”
“Oh, it’s oppa’s decision, I don’t have any say in that. It’s up to him if he wants someone to help him out or not. I help him sometimes but he has his walking stick. It’s his trusty companion.” Sunyoung giggled.
Jongdae mentally facepalmed at being forced to think about the offer now, and he hoped that whatever he would say would at least provide some neutrality.
“I…might need some…time…to think about that. But you’re more than welcome to be my friend inside and outside of school. Is that okay?”
“Okay sure.” There is a pause of silence before Yixing asks, “What do you guys have there? It smells really good.”
“Oh, it’s Minseok-hyung’s homemade noodle egg drop soup with some wontons.” Jongdae smiles.
“Ahh, I see; I have my sandwich with me, hahaha. I feel like my lunch is inferior to you two’s.”
While the trio was eating lunch, Jongdae and Yixing exchanged class schedules and began to talk a little more about themselves, with Sunyoung joining in. After they had eaten, Jongdae made to reach for his stick when Yixing placed a hand on his hand.
“Don’t worry about the stick, Zhongda. I’ll be your guide just for today. We’re heading to the same building anyway. Will that be alright with you?”
“I…uh…sure,” Jongdae said without any trace of resignation in his voice. Truth be told, he felt a little anxious to have physical contact with Yixing.
“Cool, I’ll handle your bag, too, Zhongda. Don’t worry; I don’t have my bag with me anyway. It’s in my locker. We can get it on the way.” Yixing reassured Jongdae when he saw that Jongdae was about to protest, getting up from the table to walk around and pick up his backpack as well as his reusable lunch bowl. Jongdae had no choice but to give in. Yixing then stowed the bowl in Jongdae’s backpack. Jongdae felt a little shy all of a sudden.
“Ready?” Jongdae felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and his heart was beating so fast at the sensation. He could not find the words to reply back, so he just nodded in response.
When Jongdae reached out tentatively for Yixing’s hand, Yixing quickly linked their hands together, and tugged Jongdae up to a standing position. Jongdae pulled his legs out from under the table, and when he found himself standing up, he felt his arm being guided to hook around Yixing’s arm. His breath caught in his throat at the bold skinship. He could only turn his face to where he assumed Yixing’s face was, and nervously smiled at him.
There was a hint of lean muscles in Yixing’s arms underneath the sleeved uniform, it was nothing like the familiar feeling of holding onto his younger sister’s arm, soft and assertive…Yixing’s was assertive too but his arm was more defined…
Where their hands were intertwined, Jongdae could feel Yixing’s thumb grazing softly on his knuckles….
It only took a whiff of a lemon scent in the air for Jongdae’s heart to start beating fast…
Jongdae gulped as he continued to take deep breaths to calm down…
A soft giggle was heard from his sister…
“Yah, why are you giggling, Sunyoung-ah?” Jongdae hastily questioned his sister, turning his face away from Yixing, trying to face where he thought Sunyoung was.
“You two look like a couple, with arms linked like that,” Sunyoung simpered. Jongdae did not have the strength to retort back.
“We do, don’t we, Zhongda?” Jongdae felt Yixing nudging him gently, and he could hear the amusement in Yixing’s voice.
“I wouldn’t know, I can’t see.” Jongdae said almost bluntly. In a flash, he felt embarrassed at the stupidity of his words. There was a small awkward silence afterwards, and Yixing gently patted Jongdae’s hand in reassurance as Jongdae hastily apologized over and over. Jongdae stopped when Yixing placed a finger on his lips, and he heard small chuckles from both Yixing and Sunyoung.
After the trio walked with Yixing to his locker to get his backpack, they made their way to class. They finally ended up at the building where Yixing’s classroom was on the second floor while Jongdae’s and Sunyoung’s classes were on the first floor. Yixing, being the first to leave for his classroom, patted Jongdae’s arm and untangled their linked arms with a smile. Jongdae could not deny his small disappointment at the loss of contact, and it must have been clearly shown on his face because Yixing tapped his nose lightly. Jongdae was startled that he had been caught, and looked away. He knew that he was blushing, since Sunyoung’s giggles were an obvious giveaway.
“Well, anyways, I’ll be going now. Zhongda, if I don’t see you after class today, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I’ll meet you at the entrance gate, okay? You too, Sunyoung-ah. It was nice meeting you, by the way.”
Yixing left the Kim siblings with a ‘see you later’, and Jongdae could hear Yixing’s retreating footsteps ascending, assuming that Yixing was on the stairs.
Jongdae and Sunyoung were walking to their classes when Jongdae asked Sunyoung to describe Yixing to him. Sunyoung described him to be lean and quite handsome with a long face and irresistible dimples on both cheeks, especially his right cheek, and a gentle person with a caring personality.
“Oppa…I wanna marry him.”
“Eh?! Yah, Sunyoung-ah, you’re too young to marry him!” Jongdae snapped. “You hardly even know him more than I do! He’s mi-…a-a…a…f-friend!” He showed an expression of shock before he caught his own actions and realized what he was doing. “I mean, he’s our friend.”
Sunyoung stared at her brother, looking a bit unnerved from his sudden outburst. She noticed how Jongdae looked a little flustered. “I’m sorry, oppa, but I was just playing…
“Oppa,” Sunyoung said a little weakly, intertwining her hand with her brother’s, “…are you jealous? Or possessive, maybe? I understand if you like him a lot, he is your friend after all.”
Jongdae fell silent as his heart continued to thump loudly. He’s my first friend…
- - - -
Jongdae sighed and gulped. “Because…I don’t know…what Yixing-ge looks like…Am I stupid to fall in love for someone I cannot even see, that I can only touch, hear and…smell? I’ve known him for years but to fall for someone I cannot picture in my head! This doesn’t make sense, I feel like an idi-“
“Yah.” Wufan interrupted with a growl. That shut Jongdae up. “Don’t say that about yourself ever again, you hear me? Ever. First of all, you are not stupid. Second, who says so? Who says that it is illogical for a blind person to fall in love with someone, huh? Who is to stop you from feeling what you feel for another person? Jonggie-yah, some people say that love is blind because some people are foolish to fall in love with people who they don’t match well with. However, love is also blind because there are some people who do not need eyes to see the love that others have for them. As long as you trust your heart and the other person with your very being, and the other person trusts you just the same, that’s love right there.”
- - - -
CREAAAKKK…
“Hello?” Jongdae whirled around to the source of the sound. There was no response.
For the longest time, he waited for any movement, any noise. Nothing. He frowned to himself.
All of a sudden, Jongdae felt a slight breeze…
“Is anyone there? Answer me, ple-”
…And then warm lips lightly brushed against Jongdae’s own, sending sparks throughout his body, increasing in ampere as more pressure was placed on the lips.
Just like a snap of fingers, the electric sensation zapped out and the lips left him.
Blinking, Jongdae quickly reached his hand out for anyone, but the person was just too quick, and he could only catch air. He touched his lips, feeling the warm, moist imprint.
“Yixing-ge?”
Jongdae could only hope, but he swore that his nose was not playing tricks on him. He thought he could detect a very faint whiff of lemon hanging in the air…
- - - -
“Zhongda? Are you okay? You’re crying…”
A warm hand cups Jongdae’s cheek as the thumb brushes off the tears slowly falling down…
It startles Jongdae and brings him back to the reality…
Jongdae closes his eyes and lets the tears fall, as he leans onto Yixing’s hand, raising his hand to hold it in place. The feeling of being cared for in
this manner overwhelms him to the point where there are no words to say. He can only smile and make a weak chuckle.
“I-I’m fine, Y-Yixing-ge. J-just…thinking back on the times we’ve h-had since we first met.” Jongdae feels Yixing’s thumb lazily grazing on his cheek.
“Ah, I see,” Yixing says lightheartedly. “Zhongda…there’s something I should tell you…”
Jongdae waits for Yixing to continue, gently squeezing Yixing’s hand as a signal to go on.
“That time when I walked you home with Luhan and Zitao, and you were alone in your room changing…and there was a kiss…” Yixing is about to explain but Jongdae finishes the rest of the sentence with Yixing.
“That was you, wasn’t it?”
“That was me…Oh man, I knew it. You would have known it was me, nothing could escape your keen nose.” Yixing chuckles.
Jongdae giggles. “The thing about being friends with people you’ve known for a long time, is that you’ve become accustomed to their presences and their habits that you easily recognize people by them.”
“That’s true…” Yixing says with a smirk on his face, staring at Jongdae with eyes of endearment.
“Yixing-ge, I also have a confession…” Jongdae bites his lip nervously as he lowers their intertwined hands to the table.
“Hm?”
“I…have had a crush on you for the longest time…maybe since the day we first met. I didn’t realize how much I wanted you to be my friend and to be around with me almost everyday…”
“I know.” Jongdae’s heart does a flip in his chest, at both hearing the words and feeling Yixing’s thumb brushing on the back of his hand.
“You did?” The noisy chatters in the café become diminished to a low buzzing sound, as his ears focus on Yixing’s voice. He feels Yixing’s other hand intertwining with his other hand, before both of his hands are being tugged to the center of the table.
“Zhongda, the way you’ve held my arm, the way you get close to me and get all expressive whenever I’m around. It’s not that hard to miss; otherwise, why else would I have gone over to your place almost everyday to get you and walk you to school, to any places that we could go, or even just stay there and spend some time with you and your family? Frankly, I think everyone’s been expecting us to do something about us.”
“O-oh…Wufan-ge kinda said the same thing…”
“He did?”
“Yeah, when I told him that I…liked you more than a friend…” Jongdae turns his face away, hoping that Yixing does not catch him blushing. He feels Yixing’s thumbs grazing his knuckles, and hears a snicker from Yixing.
“Ah…well, what do you say we announce it in lunch tomorrow, how does that sound? No one will know until then. It won’t be anything big, though we might get some loud reactions from them, knowing them…”
Jongdae nods, a smile on his face.
“Hey…”
Jongdae raises his eyebrows with an expectant look.
“You’re not going to get rid of me easily, you know that? It’ll be almost like before today, but a little different now that we’re together. Know that I’ll be always by your side, no matter what; when you call for me, I’ll be there in an instant; I don’t care if you wish that you could see me; I have eyes for the two of us.
“I’ll be your eyes and your backbone, Zhongda, as long as we’re together. I love you, Zhongda. I really do. I can’t imagine life with you in it.” With his eyes on Jongdae’s face, showing pure happiness, Yixing brushes his lips on each and every one of Jongdae’s knuckles on their intertwined hands before lowering them down.
Jongdae cannot suppress the smile that is threatening to show on his face. “I don’t want you to leave me, either. Thank you for always being there for me, Yixing-ge. Can we make a promise?”
“Sure.”
“As friends having gone through thick and thin, through the bad and good times in the years past, we’ve made it this far to become a couple today. Let’s promise that we will continue to uphold our lifelong bond that we have, that we’ll never leave each other’s side. Can you promise me that, Yixing-ge?”
“As your boyfriend, and as your best friend and lover, I promise you with all my heart.
“Come closer, you have something on your cheek.”
Jongdae is puzzled at the random statement in the end, but does not hesitate to lean forward.
“Closer…” Yixing has a playful teasing tone in his voice, but Jongdae is too deep in his bafflement to catch that tone.
Jongdae leans more forward, craning his neck further.
A gentle grip on Jongdae’s chin…
A small faint ghost of breath against Jongdae’s lips…
Lips bump into each other before Jongdae feels the gentle pressure from Yixing’s lips…
Jongdae is slightly taken aback but recovers quickly to reciprocate, smiling into the kiss.
The lovers then pull apart, their foreheads resting against each other.
“There’s our relationship, sealed with a kiss,” Yixing says, before brushing his nose against Jongdae’s. Jongdae chuckles.
- - -
“So you guys actually got together…Why am I not surprised, hyung?” JB says with a smile, during lunchtime on Tuesday, while everyone is giving high fives to Yongguk and patting Himchan on his back in congratulations.
“Yeah, and why couldn’t you guys tell us that over the weekend, you know? You kept this between the three of you for the past three days!” Youngjae looks indignantly between Himchan, Yongguk and Jieun.
“Sorry, Youngjae-yah… We had to work on our final project at Himchan’s music studio. It’s a good thing, ‘cause we found the place a lot more convenient than the campus’ music studios for the time being. We didn’t even have to worry about the neighbors.” Yongguk glances at Himchan with a wink, and Himchan nearly chokes on his food.
“YAH!” Himchan’s face is beet-red as he coughs a little. His hands failed to cover Jongup’s ears in time when Yongguk made a suggestive reference, ending up with his arms around Jongup’s shoulders. Himchan swallows his food. “WE’RE ALL EATING. I’M EATING.”
Everyone in their tables pause their conversations to look at Himchan. Earlier, Chanshik and Dasom had left their friends for a short time to join Kyungsoo and Daehyun, and the four of them were talking about their classes and what they would be up to for the next few weeks. Kyungsoo then informs Daehyun that Himchan was screaming something about all of them eating. All eyes are on Himchan before Jongup speaks up.
“H-hyung? The two of you were just playing loud music and instruments in the garage, that’s what you said.” Jongup looks at his brother, a bit puzzled by his actions.
“That’s what we did, Jonguppie!” Himchan says in a rushed manner. “We were working hard and experimenting sound effects for our project! Well…most of the time, and it’s like 98% of the time.”
“I…don’t even wanna know about the remaining 2%,” Youngjae mutters, giving a long stare at JB, “I pray that the 2% involves having a meal or something…”
Jieun giggles as she watches the commotion.
“Yah, Yongguk,” Himchan glares at his boyfriend, who is feigning innocence. “Could you not say any more about our pri-music sessions?”
“What, that I banged your drums while we were talking dirty, and you were blowing your hyang wood thing?”
Himchan opens and closes his mouth several times, looking shocked and enraged, before he makes a squawking noise. He looks around at his friends, who are looking confused, surprised, appalled or gleefully shocked. He regains his composure before explaining, “F-F-For your information,” - Himchan points at Luhan, who was looking giddy - “he was playing my buk, the big drum” - he then points at Joonmyeon’s surprised face - “…and we were freestyle rapping, well I tried to rap” - he then points at his boyfriend, Yongguk, who had his gummy smile - “…and I was playing the Daegeum, not Hyangbipa. That’s the lute. Daegeum is the flute. Get it in your head already!”
“Okay, okay. Calm down, Grumpy Gills, I was just messing with you. Stop acting like a fish. I won’t say anything more,” Yongguk grins at Himchan, earning a kick to his leg under the table from his boyfriend. Wincing a little, Yongguk chuckles and continues on, “We were seriously working on our project though, so we didn’t really have the time to tell anyone about our relationship. We didn’t even do anything as a couple, well okay, maybe just a little lip action here and the-“
“OKAY, THAT’S IT, YONGGUK. YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT YOU DON’T FREAKING KISS AND TELL.” Himchan looks as if he is about to burst. Everyone is laughing at the sight of Himchan looking mortified and indignant at Yongguk’s lines.
“Okay, okay, princess.” Yongguk flashes a smile. “I’ll keep it down. But we got a good start on our project anyway, so we’ll get it done before the deadline.”
Everyone nod their approvals, and cheer for the two of them to do well. It is not long afterwards does Luhan makes an announcement.
“Speaking of deadlines, me, Yixing, Jongin-ah, Sehun-ah and Jongup-ah will be having our auditions in a few weeks. You guys are more than welcome to come and watch!” Everyone murmurs and some are nodding, wanting to check the event out. Afterwards, they look around to see if there are any more announcements, and finding none, before they once again fall into different conversations.
Youngjae shoots Jieun a question, remembering something. “Ah, noona…?”
“What is it, Youngjae-yah?”
“How do you feel about Yongguk-hyung and Himchan-hyung being together, and why are you not with them? Isn’t Yongguk bi though?”
“Ahhh…smart guy you are,” Jieun praises Youngjae for catching on the hidden message in Yongguk’s announcement earlier - “Now y’all will know him as my boyfriend, my only one,” Yongguk had said - “Actually, I broke up with Yongguk-ah, and Hyosung-unnie also broke up with Himchan-ah. She and I had planned this together, so no regrets.”
“WHAT?!” Youngjae exclaims as he makes to stand up, and JB holds his shoulder to calm him down. Jieun, Jongup, Yongguk and Himchan look at him in mild surprise. A few neighboring group members also glance at him with questioning looks before they resume their conversations. “I mean, sorry. That’s quite a shock. So you and Hyosung-noona planned this, and the two of you were okay with that?”
“Mhm. Yongguk and Himchan are much better off with each other, you can see how obviously they like each other.”
Yongguk and Himchan exchange looks before Yongguk sticks out his tongue in a playful manner and Himchan rolls his eyes and fails to resist a grin on his face.
“Everyone, we have another announcement to hear!”
- - -
After Himchan’s outburst, Yixing and Jongdae comment on Yongguk and Himchan’s relationship, and what Yongguk had said that earned different reactions from everyone. They then start talking about their own decision to announce their official status to the group.
“What do you think, shall we make an announcement as well right now?” Yixing is holding Jongdae’s hand under the table as he nudges Jongdae gently on the shoulder.
Jongdae smiles and nods shyly, “Whenever you’re ready, gege.”
Yixing brings up their intertwined hands to his lips and kisses the back of Jongdae’s hand.
Zitao and Luhan happen to catch the couple’s intimate moment, and Luhan reacts with a gleeful, amazed look on his face. He looks at Zitao, who is looking back at him with a wide grin. Luhan nudges Zitao, whispering, “Look at these two, they finally got together!” Zitao nods, his eyes crinkling in amusement.
Luhan pokes Sehun and whispers closely to his ear, “They finally confessed!” Sehun looks over to where Yixing and Jongdae are sitting, and he smiles at the sight of them being subtly lovey-dovey and in their own world. Luhan then turns to his brother, whispering, “Yah, Xingtuo, did you two confess over the weekend too?”
Yixing looks to Luhan with a smile at his nickname. He shakes his head amusedly, “What, no. Gege, if we did, we probably would have told you sooner than today. You’d probably be the first to know. But we confessed yesterday actually, so this will be the first time everyone will hear about it, even you.”
“Ah~ I see,” Luhan nods in acknowledgement and gently takes ahold of Jongdae’s hand. Jongdae’s face turns slightly to the direction of Luhan’s hand.
“Jongdae-yah, Yixing’s a wonderful guy. I always knew you two were meant for each other, I’m really glad you guys finally got together.” Luhan lets go of Jongdae’s hand to pat it before he shouts.
“Everyone, we have another announcement to hear!” Luhan misses the look of protest that Yixing shoots in his direction, as he looks around the table. Yixing glances at Jongdae and gently squeezes his hand twice, wondering if Jongdae is still okay with the timing of the announcement. Jongdae nods with a smile.
Every head turns to Yixing’s direction as he stands up.
“As of yesterday, Zhongda and I are officially a couple too.”
Cheers erupt from the group, earning looks from the surrounding tables. The group has been really noisy that day, with all the yelling and cheering going on.
“FINALLY, IT WAS ABOUT TIME!” Luhan’s voice pierces through the sounds of clapping and whooping.
“You know what Shakespeare would say?” Yongguk comments to Himchan, who looks at him astonished and grinning, shaking his head. Yongguk says in English, as he has always done with Shakespeare’s lines, “‘Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind’, Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Himchan shakes his head amusedly, recognizing the foreign language.
“Sometimes I can’t believe how you, of all the people I’ve met, would know these lines from Shakespeare. It’s startling how you know the right lines to say for the right moments…yet you can be so cocky and never know when to shut up.”
“That’s Yongguk for you, Himchannie~” Jieun singsongs.
“Has he ever been like that with you, Jieun-ah?” Himchan is getting used to regarding his peers affectionately. “With the Shakespeare lines?”
Jieun shakes her head. “Nah, but he was a romantic though, he likes to be cocky sometimes but his considerate nature makes up for it. He knows how to get to a girl’s heart with his unique serenades and his actions, or a guy’s heart, really. He has his ways, no one knows how he does it.”
“Damn right, no one does. I am a true pro,” Yongguk smiles as he holds both Jieun’s hand and Himchan’s hand, lifting them to kiss the back of their hands. He then nips on the back of Himchan’s hand lightly.
“Yongguk, p-please,” Himchan splutters as he looks around. Yongguk snickers, lowering his hand that is intertwined with Jieun’s down to the table. He still
holds his hand with Himchan’s up near his face.
“Himchan…you know you lik-”
“I didn’t say anything about liking th-AAHH!” Himchan gasps in shock and shudders when Yongguk licks the back of his hand, and Yongguk flashes his gummy smile at him. He squeals and tries to wrestle his hand out of Yongguk’s firm hold.
Ignoring Himchan’s protests, Yongguk places several kisses on his knuckles, making Himchan blush. “Yongguk, I hate you. Why are you so cheesy and everything? Goodness. Stop it. I said stop it,” Himchan snaps weakly when Yongguk continues to play with his hand, nipping on his fingers, “stop playing with my fingers, you’re making me feel all weird. EEK! YONGGUK. NO.”
Himchan jumps in his seat when Yongguk inserts one of Himchan’s fingers in his mouth, his eyes twinkling as his lips curl inwards to protect the finger from being bitten by his teeth. Himchan moans weakly when he feels the playful flick of Yongguk’s tongue against his fingertip, and he feels his cheeks becoming warm. Himchan struggles his hand out of Yongguk’s grasp, before Yongguk lets it go. Himchan shoots a feeble glare at his boyfriend, wiping his finger on his shirt. Youngjae and JB watch on with wary looks, before exchanging glances and shrugging at each other.
Jongup is watching his brother with a slight amusement on his face, chuckling with Jieun. He glances to his left and notices Jongin and Joonmyeon watching their boyfriend and chatting with Sehun and Luhan. His eyes flicker over to Daehyun, who is signing to Kyungsoo, Chanshik, Dasom and Zitao.
[…I not think I bear can another chapter. Dull. Book. I want read something from…I-not-know…not S-h-a-k-e-s-p-e-a-r-e, but same…maybe H-u-g-o…o-r someone else…That book horrible boring.] Daehyun signs to the group, and they laugh in agreement. (…I don’t think I can bear reading another chapter from that book. It’s so dull…I wanna read something else from…I don’t know, not Shakespeare but like maybe Hugo, or…someone else. That book…it’s just terribly boring.)
Jongup does not realize he has been staring at Daehyun for a while, with his chin resting on his palm and his elbow on the table, until Jongin playfully tickles him by poking his side. Jongup jerks in his seat, snapping out of his daze to look at his friend.
“What?”
“What?” Jongin counters back teasingly. “You’ve been staring at Daehyun-hyung for some time. Is something the matter?”
Jongup glances back at the group and almost jumps in his seat when he sees Daehyun’s eyes on him. The others are also glancing at him, having just noticed their friend’s actions.
“N-no, nothing’s the matter. I-I wasn’t staring, I was just…thinking.” Jongup hastily makes an excuse. He fails to hear a soft “Uh-huh, that’s what I said when I first saw Kyungsoo-hyung and look how it turned out” from Jongin as he lowers his arm quickly and turns away from Daehyun. He hastens to make himself look busy and focused on Himchan’s conversation with Yongguk about the music project.
Later into the conversation, Jongup feels his attention dwindling before he glances back at Daehyun. Daehyun is busy waving Chanshik and Dasom goodbye with Kyungsoo, as the two go back to their group of friends. He notices that when Kyungsoo and Daehyun turn around, Chanshik and Dasom are holding hands.
I didn’t think they’d be a couple, but I guess they seem to have liked each other a lot for some time… Jongup thinks to himself, before he looks back to the deaf duo.
As Kyungsoo and Daehyun pick up their conversation from where they left off, Jongup is getting better at understanding sign language, watching Daehyun most of the time. He has learned a majority of general signs of school and home, except for subjects such as philosophy and history.
For the second time, Jongup makes eye contact with Daehyun, and he quickly looks away, anywhere but at Daehyun. Jongup wonders to himself, Will Daehyun and I ever be like Jongdae-hyung and Yixing-hyung, having a relationship like that? I kind of want to hope so… Jongup fidgets in his seat, thinking about how he wants to tell Daehyun how he feels, until Jongin interrupts his thoughts to talk with him about their chemistry class.
- - -
When lunch is over and everyone is getting up to go to their schedules, Jongup quickly asks Kyungsoo for a moment before he leaves with Daehyun and Jongin to the library. A bit puzzled, Kyungsoo stays behind. Daehyun leaves, unaware that Kyungsoo was being held up by Jongup. He walks for a few seconds until he looks to one side, expecting Kyungsoo to be with him, but his friend is not there. He turns around and spots Kyungsoo talking with Jongup, but before he can see what they are talking about, he feels a tap on his shoulder. He whirls around to see Jongin, who nods towards the library; Daehyun hesitates, looking behind, but decides to follow him anyway.
Kyungsoo is watching Jongup with an expectant look. “What’s up, Jongup-ah?”
Jongup shuffles his feet on the ground as he tries to find the words to ask Kyungsoo. “Hyung, I’d…like to know what’s the sign for…‘I like you’? If there is an
American sign for it…like, I don’t want the ‘Johahae’ sign but…uhm…the English ‘I like you’ sign,” Jongup asks nervously.
Kyungsoo looks at Jongup with slightly widened eyes, “Are you telling me that you have a confession to make to Daehyun?”
“Ye- I mean maybe. I don’t know. I just want to know, just in case.”
“Just in case, what?” Kyungsoo has a hint of smile adding to his already widened, interested eyes.
“Nothing, hyung. It’s just a silly question to ask, anyway.” Jongup brushes off the topic.
“Alright, alright, here. I’ll show you.” Kyungsoo makes a gesture of three signs.
“Oh…” Jongup murmurs as he watches Kyungsoo before attempting to imitate the gestures: pointing to his chest; his hand making a gesture of pulling something with his middle finger and thumb outwards from his chest; pointing to Kyungsoo. “Like that?”
“Mhm,” Kyungsoo nods. “Simple as that.”
“Hmm…what about ‘I love you’?”
Kyungsoo smiles, his eyes twinkling. “Well it’s the same format as ‘I like you’, but instead of ‘like’, this is ‘love’.” He crosses his arms on his chest with closed fists, almost like hugging himself.
Jongup tries to remember Kyungsoo’s actions, pointing to himself, crossing his arms with closed fists, and then pointing at Kyungsoo.
Kyungsoo nods in approval. “That’s all there is to it. Anyway, Jongup-ah, I gotta get going to the library, you best go on with Sehun-ah to your history class. But I promise, I won’t tell Daehyun about this. Your secret’s safe with me, Jongup-ah.” Kyungsoo pats Jongup’s shoulder before saying goodbye, and he turns to catch up with Jongin and Daehyun.
- - - - - - - -
Part 2