that’s when she notices the familiar figure approaching from the corner of her eye, not even needing to take a proper look to confirm the identity of the person drawing close. she doesn’t need to, because she would recognize him anywhere. it’s hard not to, his face is a familiar one. considering how she spends a good part of her time daydreaming about him, all the times she’s stared at him in the food court, and all the photographs she took of him in secret.
oh, shit — the photographs. panicking when she recalls that the photographs of him are on display at the booth, she runs over to where her photographs are hung up in a desperate attempt to hide them, but it’s too late. before she can even do anything, hoetaek’s voice comes from behind her.
if he didn’t have people inviting him out into it, hoetaek might’ve avoided the spring festival entirely this year. but he has ahri to spend a romantic day with, and sian to have fun with the carnival games with. and danbi, who he’s here to support. he’d heard she’d have some photos on display at the photography booth, so of course he’s come down to see them and support his friend. it’s the least he can do, really, considering the fact that she’s stuck by him despite... recent events. but also he knows she’s talented, and any excuse to talk up his talented friends is one he’ll gladly take.
he sees her from a distance, trying to get the attention of passersby, no doubt wanting to attract potential buyers for the photos. he gets ready to voice a greeting, but as soon as he’s close enough, his eyes are immediately drawn to the photographs on display, and he’s distracted enough to forget to say it. hoetaek is a canvas and paper artist, but he can absolutely appreciate the artistry behind photography. these are good, really good. but one of the main things that catches his eye, is himself. he’s not posing in any of these photos, they’re all candid and he has no idea when any of them were taken, but he doesn’t mind. especially considering they’re so beautifully taken.
“are these yours?” he asks danbi. “they’re amazing, you’re incredibly talented, I hope you know.” he smiles at her. “I mean, you managed to make me look good, that’s harder than it looks,” he jokes with a laugh, his attention turning back to the photographs. “you know, it’s probably better you took these without me knowing, I always look awkward as shit when I’m posing,” he comments, somehow completely oblivious to any deeper meaning behind why danbi might have snapped these shots of him in secret.
↱ On days where I hate myself for being me, on days where I want to disappear forever let’s make a door. it’s in your heart open the door and this place will await Magic Shop @sgnhoetaek
the day’s nearly over, at least when it comes to classes, and with how nearly empty the hallways are, seokwoo thinks that maybe he it’s time for him to go as well. he checks the time and ponders the idea of heading back to his room for a moment — tomorrow’s a day, too, and he’d probably find something to entertain himself with. he decides against it though, because no, not yet. there’s still a place where he’s likely to run into someone no matter the hour, and even if that does not turn out to be the case, it still would be worth it.
as expected, he doesn’t meet anyone on his way to where he’s headed, but really, that’s for the better because he doesn’t feel like explaining why he’s still hanging around after all lectures are over. as expected, the door opens easily once seokwoo reaches the art room, and the dim light tells him he’s not going to be the only one there. which is okay because he doesn’t mind company, when it’s the kind of company he can have an actual conversation with, which, thankfully, most of the people he’s come across in this room are capable of. it doesn’t take long to spot a figure that’s familiar once he gets closer, and the way his lips curl into a small smile happens without realization. ‘ hi, ’ it doesn’t sound as casual as he wants it, at all, but that probably doesn’t matter, and what he says next is not true either. he is just excited and it’s difficult to hide. ‘ i was just passing by. what’re you working on ? ’
hoetaek has a tendency to lose track of time in here. truthfully, if it weren’t for security guards and cleaners making their rounds, he could imagine spending days at a time in the art rooms of seongnam. so, when he hears the door open and someone shuffle inside, he has no idea what time it is. he turns, hoping it’s not the cleaner come to kick him out, and he smiles when he sees it’s seokwoo. he’s glad to see him, not only because it means it’s still a reasonable time of day, but also just cause he likes the kid’s company. to be fair, hoetaek likes pretty much everyone in art club, but he has a soft sport for seokwoo. mostly because the guy seems to be genuinely interested in hoetaek’s work. a fan, kind of, though calling him that feels a little conceited to hoetaek. mostly, seokwoo seems excited to talk to him, particularly when it comes to his art, and hoetaek tries to live up to that.
“hey,” he returns seokwoo’s greeting, smiling when he catches the excitement in the other’s voice. he looks back at his painting at the question. “it’s a watercolour of a florist shopfront,” he explains, though he’s mostly done so that much is probably obvious. it looks a little bit like fleur cafe if it was entirely a florist and not also a cafe. “my girlfriend likes flowers,” he continues. “I was thinking about her, and started painting.” the displays in the painting are mostly lilies and sunflowers, in bouquets together, sometimes bound together with bows. ahri once said that hoetaek gives her the vibe of sunflowers. he’s always though she was like a lily. “it’s been a while since I did a bigger scale watercolour, I can’t decide if I want to more solid outlines or details, or leave it purely watercolour. what do you think?” he looks back over at seokwoo, genuinely wanting to know his opinion.
that’s why the sophomore lets himself be lead by hoetaek without much of a struggle, only adjusting his backpack on his shoulder and then he blinks at hoetaek. well, that’s much better than his case because well, he never really handed any late assignments technically, but he might’ve worked his way around some deadlines like sending a corrupted file as his assignment to the professor just so he’d have a couple more of hours to finish his actual assignment or sending it a couple of hours later (sometimes even a day) with the excuse of re-sending the email since he didn’t receive one confirming that his professor got his assignment. it all worked just fine even if dongmin does feel guilty about these occurances to this day. but being fair, dongmin has never gotten a failed grade either (by the cost of lots of stress and all nighters).
“then i’m just going to trust hyung.” dongmin smiles a bit. he isn’t completely sure about whether this is a good idea, but then it’s because dongmin is a little too responsible, a little too uptight about things, a little too insecure and second guesses pretty much anything. he says he’s going to trust hoetaek, and well, he’ll at least try. “i don’t really go out shopping that much” he confesses a little shyly, even if it’s probably something very clear considering how his wardrobe is basically made of jeans and tshirts, a couple of suits here and there since he still needs to play his father’s son.
hoetaek’s face brightens when dongmin agrees to the plan. not that hoetaek had given him much of a choice, but still, he’s glad dongmin’s going along with him willingly. “it will be fun,” he promises, a wide grin on his face. “I have weird tastes and lots of my dad’s money to blow so don’t expect this to be like any shopping trip you’ve ever been on before,” he warns, pointing a finger at dongmin. “and don’t think you’re just gonna be following around, I’m not letting you leave until you pick something out for yourself too.” hoetaek always prefers shopping with people, he likes the fun of trying things on and showing them off, discussing the merits of certain items before deciding to buy them, and even if this whole trip was his idea, he wants dongmin to enjoy himself too.
he smiles at dongmin when he says he’ll trust him. “good, I am a lot more trustworthy than I look. most of the time,” he says, chuckling. “I wouldn’t lead you astray, and I wouldn’t have suggested this if I didn’t think we’d be able to finish the assignment.” his eyebrows raise when dongmin admits to not shopping much, though hoetaek shouldn’t really be surprised considering what he’s seen the other wear. “let me guess, more of a going shopping as rarely as possible and only to get essentials kind of guy?” hoetaek hypothesises. “well if you let yourself have fun today, we might change that. there is something to be said for trying on half a store and giving your friends—or in this case, me—a fashion show,” he grins. “no pressure though, if you’re uncomfortable,” he adds, not wanting dongmin to feel like hoetaek is pushing him to do something he might not want to do.
he pulls his keys out when they reach his car, unlocking it and sliding into the driver’s seat. he waits until dongmin is safely inside before starting the car and pulling out of his parking spot. it doesn’t take long to get too iseul. hoetaek parks and leads the way, heading straight for the rising east mall (they can check out the street stalls on the way out if they decide to). hoetaek knows where he wants to start, in the higher end fashion stores, and he glances at dongmin as they enter the first one, mostly to make sure he’s still with him. for some reason, hoetaek gets take it like man from legally blonde the musical in his head. “ready?”
All of this was for Hoetaek and it was meant to be a gift, celebrating their friendship’s anniversary, not a parting gift. Seungah couldn’t bear to keep it in her room any longer. It just made her sad. She had one of the other girls take it to his dorm and to make sure he receives it, but will not say anything about it coming from her. Not wanting those who knew her better to see through her cold exterior how much this hurt her.
In a suit bag was his white suit and pants, the one she promised him and expected him to paint on someday. It had several pockets but the inner pocket of his suit was well sewn closely where his heart would be when he wears it. His name embroidered where a clothing label could be sometimes found and next to his name was a peach blossom. The suit jacket and the pants were made from the same material, sewn by her to perfection with every chance she got to sit in her room to be alone with her thoughts. Rich and dark red suit lining had gold specks on it like stardust. Red has always been her color but the gold specks were him. A representation of him being part of her being in every sense.
In the box was the denim jacket was made to replace his hideous jacket with excess fabric for its sleeves. There was no clothing tag on it, instead, it had the same embroidery of his name and the same peach blossom next to it. The clothes were basic in every sense which he could probably get anywhere he wanted or have them tailored to fit him perfectly but these were made by her, not because it’s a requirement for her class but because it was a reminder, an offering to Hoetaek for all he had done for her.
Seungah has had Hoetaek’s measurements because she often used his body measurements for her projects. Underneath the folded jacket, sits the final sketches for his suit and denim jacket. The drawn model was Hoetaek and underneath was Seungah’s signature and there was a date, not just any date, the date that they met. When he wore that poor hideous orange jacket that hurt her eyes. Along with the sketches in the box was an envelope that contained a handwritten letter from Seungah, which she wrote long before he decided to keep her in the dark and her having decided to cut ties with him.
“My Taek,
This letter must have come as a surprise to you, that’s why I wrote it. Surprise! I don’t think we ever celebrated our anniversary neither do I think we’ve ever set a date on one, so I’m saying that the day we met would be that and I will not hear any objections from you, here’s why: I think the fates have decided that the threads of our lives were meant to be tied together and we were bound to meet each other at one point. When or how, was the only question. It happened on that first day of school. You with your poor choice in fashion and I, a bitch who doesn’t hold her tongue. Maybe the reason I spoke to you was your jacket but your laughter was a confirmation, one that sealed our fate.
We’ll be in each other’s lives no matter what.
Forever that is.
Thank you for all you’ve done to keep me safe and sane, on top of making me feel loved when I stopped believing in it so early in my life. I’m sorry for entrusting you with the heavy burden of my broken heart and having to deal with me as nothing but a plethora of madness. Still, you stuck by me and loved me for what I am without wanting to change a thing about me, though I always want to change your entire closet which I won’t. Because that’s what makes you, YOU. I do love you and I will forever cherish you, Kwon Hoetaek.
Forever stuck with you,
Your Seung.”
✘✘✘
hoetaek is surprised by the knock on the door. surprised to see one of seungah’s girls on the other side with a delivery in her arms. when he registers what it is, however, he realises he shouldn’t have been. seungah had told him she’d finished his clothes and that she’d have them delivered, and here they are. if hoetaek’s honest, a part of him had almost expected her to just get rid of them. cut them up and use the fabric for something else, he wouldn’t have blamed her. but really, he knew she wouldn’t have done something like that, wouldn’t let all that hard work go to waste. and receiving them is a reminder of what he’s done. of what he’s lost.
it takes him some time before he can open the packages. they sit on his dinning table over night and the whole next day, until he can’t ignore them anymore. he sits down, his heart in his throat, and slowly unzips the suit bag. the suit is beautiful, not that he expected any less, but it still takes his breath away when he sees it. he runs his fingers over the lining of the jacket, fingertips sliding over silk. he traces the stitching of his name with his pointer finger, letting it rest on the peach blossom. it looks right. his name next to her symbol. her red with his gold. partners in crime, best friends for life, a bond that should’ve been unbroken.
he takes a breath, sets the suit aside, and opens the box. he smiles, bittersweet, at the sight of the jacket. the same embroidery instead of a tag. it’s simple and it’s perfect and—when hoetaek slides it on—it fits like a glove. he hold his hands up to inspect the sleeves. they’re an appropriate length, and hoetaek lets a sad burst of laughter escape his lips when he imagines doing that in front of seungah. -look, you made the sleeves too short! -shut up you dork. an alternate universe. one in which he’s not a complete idiot.
he almost misses the paper in the bottom of the box, not expecting anything other than the clothes. the sketches catch him off guard—seeing himself drawn by seungah’s hand for the first time in a long time—and the date. of course he knows it immediately. of course he remembers the date of their first meeting, the orange jacket that started it all. he picks the letter up last, stares at it still in it’s envelope for a good few minutes, as if it’s going to prepare him for what’s inside. it doesn’t, of course, and he slides the paper out with a shaking hand.
the letter hurts. obviously written before everything happened. it hurts because seungah doesn’t feel this way anymore. it hurts because it’s all his fault. the words in this letter, this is how it’s supposed to be. hoetaek’s the one that’s supposed to be supporting her through everything, her shoulder to cry on, the person she can trust when she can’t trust anyone else. but he’s broken that trust, became a reason for her to cry, and he can’t imagine a time when he will ever not hate himself for it.
hoetaek’s been going out to clubs less and less lately. he hasn’t had the energy, what with everything going on, and he’d much rather just spend time with ahri in one of their dorm rooms. but tonight, he’s been dragged out by a friend, and honestly? he’s having fun. it helps that he’s a few drinks in and it’s been a while since he last let loose, so even though he hadn’t been expecting to, hoetaek had found himself on the dance floor with a smile on his face. it’s a good distraction, he realises, letting the music and the alcohol and the atmosphere take over so he doesn’t have to think.
he’s coming back from getting drinks, weaving his way through the crowd towards the table his friend is waiting at. there’s a smile on his face and his head is bobbing along to the music, but he stops short when the table comes into view. his friend is there, where he left her, but there’s also some guy, standing by their table and talking to her. she doesn’t look particularly happy that he’s there, and hoetaek’s mind immediately jumps to the worst. this guy is coming on to her and she’s not interested. now, hoetaek has no way of knowing for sure that’s actually the case, but a few drinks in his brain isn’t functioning at 100% logic. his protective instincts kick in and he’s hurrying over to the table, placing the drinks down and pushing himself in between his friend and the guy.
this guy is much taller than hoetaek is, has 10cm on him at least, but hoetaek’s not afraid. he’s not about to let some sleaze-ball bother his friend, no sir. “hey! stay away from her!” he says, yelling to sound intimidating over the music (though the effect is probably somewhat lessened by his not-entirely-sober state). “take your sleazy intentions elsewhere!” ( starter for @sgnseunghyun )
it’s felt weird, watching the campus transform in preparation for the spring festival. seeing everything get brighter, everyone’s building excitement, when hoetaek’s just been trying to get through each day without thinking about seungah. an impossible feat, really, when everything seems to remind him of the friendship he fucked up. truth be told, if it wasn’t for ahri and < @sgnsian > (and danbi too, he’s gotta show his support for her photos in the exhibition), he probably would’ve spent the whole festival in his dorm room. but, sian had offered to spend time with him, to do whatever he wanted, even get away from campus, and hoetaek wasn’t about to say no. he lost one friendship, he’s going to hold tightly to the ones he still has, and he’s more than grateful to still have sian’s. not that she would’ve necessarily taken seungah’s side, all things considered, but when hoetaek can’t help but feel that it would make sense for everyone to give up on him, he’s very glad that sian hasn’t.
he’s decided to stay on campus, not really having the energy to go too far, and figuring that as long as they avoided a certain someone, they’d be fine. his plan is to just kind of... have as much fun as they can manage. which involves playing all of the carnival games and eating a much food as they can manage. hoetaek waits for sian near where all the games are set up, watching people moving around, talking excitedly, and cheering when they win something. he’s feeling better today, which probably has something to do with what he has planned, and he’s even smiling softly as he waits.
his smile brightens when he sees sian walking towards him, and he lifts his arm to wave at her. “hey!” he greets her when she’s close enough to hear him. “ready to play games until we drop?” he asks with a chuckle. “my goal is to win the biggest, pinkest, fluffiest teddy bear for ahri, so you have to make sure I don’t lose sight of that goal.” ahri’ll love it, she’ll probably call him a cheesy dork, but he knows that she’ll love it. “oh, and I’m winning something for you too, so keep an eye out for what you want,” he adds, in a tone that suggests she shouldn’t try to argue with him. it’ll be a thank you, for being such a good friend, though he’s not gonna say that out loud because then sian’ll be the one calling him a cheesy dork.
hoetaek has been going through it lately. he hasn’t been dealing well with his fall out with seungah, and it hasn’t helped that everyone at seongnam seems to know about it (though it’s not surprising given seungah’s status and the way news travels around here). his one saving grace in all of this has been < @sgnahri >. if he’s honest, he doesn’t think he deserves her. what he did to seungah, the way he completely betrayed her trust, it’s made him reevaluate who he thought he was, and he wouldn’t have blamed ahri for walking away from the mess that he feels like he’s become. but she hasn’t. she’s stuck by him, as his girlfriend for real this time, and hoetaek doesn’t have the words to describe how incredibly grateful he is for her. she means so much to him, and he’s damn well going to make sure he doesn’t make the same mistakes with her that he did with his ex-best friend.
they sit on a picnic blanket, under the cherry blossom trees of the spring festival, and hoetaek can’t keep his eyes off ahri. she’d planned this whole thing, packed the picnic, picked the spot, taken care of everything so that hoetaek could have a chance to enjoy himself. she’d done all this just for him and how could hoetaek’s heart not be warm, when he has someone as wonderful as she is by his side? “you’re incredible, you know that right?” he tells her, because he can’t help himself and because he thinks she should know. maybe it’s the atmosphere, calm and serene, or maybe it’s his recent vow to be more honest with his feelings, but hoetaek can’t help saying what’s on his mind. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, honestly, you’re the only thing keeping me sane right now.”
she looks so beautiful, picture perfect amongst the trees. the sight belongs in every museum, but hoetaek allows himself to be a little selfish and enjoy the fact that right now, it’s just for him. “you’re so beautiful,” he tells her, softly. he reaches over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger for just a moment against her skin. “makes me want to draw you, how you are right now, but then I’d have to stop looking at you to sketch and I don’t really want to have to do that,” he chuckles, lightly, resting his hand on the blanket, close enough to hers that their fingers touch.
there’s only one room left, the room farthest down the hall. she clenches onto the handle and opens the door an inch, peering inside the room to see if he’s there. found you, she thinks, lips curving up an imperceptible amount. her expression is back to her signature look not a second later as she opens the door even further. « hi. » footsteps light, she steps forward into the room though she still stands in the doorway. her voice has it’s characteristic soft reflection as to not startle the man. « i’m sorry to bother, but is it okay if we spoke for a bit? »
if it’s possible for hoetaek to be spending more time than usual in the art rooms, then he is. they’ve always been somewhat of a safe space for him, a place he can exist solely to create. and now, when he’s trying very hard not to linger on unpleasant thoughts about particular recent events involving a certain (ex) best friend of his, being able to let go of everything and get lost in his art has been more valuable than ever. so it should come as no surprise that he’s here, in the furthest room along, alone with a paintbrush and the music flowing through his air pods. he’s painting ahri. his saving grace in all this. her patience and understanding, the fact she’s even still by his side, he doesn’t deserve it but he’s grateful for it. she’s holding him together, and he’s sure that if he wasn’t painting her, focusing on her face, than something much darker would be showing itself on this canvas.
he catches someone entering the room out of the corner of his eye, and he pauses, surprised, taking an earbud out just in time to hear her greeting. “hey, jiah,” he replies. he’s less surprised that she found him, hoetaek in the art rooms has basically become a seongnam cliche by this point. he’s mostly surprised by the fact that she was looking for him in the first place. hoetaek knows jiah only as one of seungah’s cheerleading team mates. they’ve exchanged a few words when he’s shown up to support seungah, and hoetaek would call them acquaintances, but not exactly friends. still, he’s not going to be rude and ignore her. though the fact that she’s on a team with seungah concerns him. has she heard about what happened and come to berate him for being an idiot? he wouldn’t blame her.
“sure,” he answers her question anyway, unable to help being curious about why she’s here. besides, nothing about the way she’s presenting herself right now would suggest she’s here to tell him off. she seems shy, and maybe a little nervous. which only makes hoetaek more curious. “it’s not a bother at all, come on in, take a seat.” he motions to the few chairs and tables scattered around the room, before lifting himself to sit up on the table next to where he was painting, crossing his legs and resting his hands in his lap.
ahri pays attention to the tattoos that hoetaek is showing off, taking extra interest in the one on the arm closes to her. she moves her hand to reach out but then ends up pulling back because she isn’t quite sure if she’s allowed to touch. instead ahri chuckles lightly, she understands what hoetaek means in a sense, even if herself doesn’t have any idea of a next tattoo, she still wouldn’t mind doing another one, likes the idea of it even if she doesn’t know what or where she’d do it and of course one that would still keep the image she likes of herself, the image of a princess like person and that’s exactly what she says. “i think i know what you mean.” her tattoo isn’t as visible as hoetaek’s so she just stretches her arms out like she could imagine the possibilites of tattoos there. “i’m not opposed to the idea of a new tattoo,” she confesses. “but then i don’t have any design or place in mind.” probably flowers again, she thinks to herself.
“besides it’s going to be a little hard to balance my princess image with tattoos.” her tone is playful before turning to hoetaek once again. “what are your plans then? for your future tattoo or tattoos.”
hoetaek likes it when ahri tells him being a tattoo artist suits him. likes how quickly she came to that conclusion. it may seem strange, but any time someone tells him they can imagine him in a tattoo shop, it gives him confidence, makes him think he actually can do it. going down this path was a risk. setting the stones to break away from his father, to completely go out on his own... despite the fact that he had chosen this path a long time ago he still holds the weight of that decision. not that he’d ever go back on it, every interaction with his father reminds him of how badly he wants out. but it helps elevate some of the pressure, the stress of what the future holds, to hear someone tell him they too can imagine the dream he has for himself. especially ahri.
“oh I think you’re definitely entitled to a discount for life for putting up with me,” hoetaek says with a laugh. “seriously though, when I’m a fully licensed tattoo artist, you say the word and anything you want I’ll do for you,” he tells her. he doesn’t really imagine that ahri’s the type to end up covered in tattoos, but he’s still more than happy to put that offer on the table regardless. she deserves a lot, for agreeing to this fake relationship he’s put her in, the promise of a free tattoo is the least he can do. “even if you’ve long gotten sick of me by then, I will still honour it,” he adds. he’s joking, but there’s a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach at the idea of ahri getting sick of him, at the promise of all this being over one day. he doesn’t like that feeling, so he does what he always does when he feels it, ignores it and stops thinking about it.
hoetaek can’t help chuckling when ahri tells him what her mother would say about tattoos. “yeah, I’ve heard that one a lot.” how do you think that’s going to look when you’re old and wrinkly? is something his father likes to say whenever they get into about his tattoos. “I mean, it’s not terrible advice, you do have to consider the fact that whatever tattoo you get is going to be on your body forever, including when you’re old and wrinkly. but I always like to say that when I’m old and wrinkly, I’ll be old and wrinkly and probably wont give so much of a fuck what I look like,” he tells her with a shrug. “I know it’s not the same for everyone, but I think that when I’m old, I’d rather have splodgy bits of ink on my skin to remind me that I lived my best life, then look at my saggy bare arms and wish I hadn’t worried so much.” his eyebrows raise curiously when ahri mentions that she has a tattoo. “you have a tattoo?” he asks, not expecting that, and kind of impressed by the news. he’s dying to know what it is, but considering the fact that he hasn’t already seen it, it must be somewhere hidden, and he’s not about to ask ahri to expose anything she’s not comfortable with.
hoetaek doesn’t miss the way ahri goes to touch his tattoos, but then hesitates, and he automatically leans closer, arms still outstretched. “it’s okay, you can touch them if you like.” truth be told he probably wouldn’t do this with just anyone. there have been enough strangers who have thought his body was free range to touch just because he has tattoos, that hoetaek is a little weary about who he lets touch him. but he doesn’t think twice about ahri. he trusts her. and if maybe he wants her to touch them... well he doesn’t linger on that thought too long. “well I could always sketch some ideas out for you,” he tells her when she admits to being interested in a new tattoo. “put something to paper and see how you feel about it. you don’t have to, of course, but my services are on offer if you ever should need them.”
“I would say screw your image, but I know that’s not the easiest thing for a princess to do,” he says with a chuckle. his face quickly becomes contemplative, however, when she asks about his future tattoo plans. “well, I know I want to add some more traditional style tattoos to my legs, probably end up with legs covered in traditional tattoos. and I also know I want a starry night tattoo. I’m think in like a circle on my back or on my arm. could add to that later too with some of van gogh’s other works like one of his sunflowers paintings.”
Then there was the awkward silence, Jisoo sat, a small smile forming on his lips as he waited for a response. Right, the assignment, Jisoo panicked for a bit, realising he has no idea what the assignment was saying either. “The assignment…” he started off, trying to collect his thoughts, even if the other was coming from a place of help, he didn’t want to seem like he had no clue, especially since he was accepted into the university. But it seemed he had no choice after all, his eyes gazed at the instruction paper as he read from it, trying to make it seem like he knew what he was saying, and doing.
“…Combine three art styles of different times…” he could hear his voice dimming, but he was more focused on how unsure he was that when he finished the sentence, only certain sounds came out in huffs, “… I don’t know…”
hoetaek relaxes a little when it seems that this person seems to accept that hoetaek is being genuine, and even more so when he offers his name. "hi jisoo,” hoetaek returns the greeting, wise smile on his face. he chuckles a little, good-naturedly, at the way jisoo doesn’t seem to know whether or not to shake hands. hoetaek doesn’t think this particular situations calls for it, though if jisoo had just stuck his hand out with confidence, hoetaek probably would’ve just shaken it. but this up and down thing leaves him not really knowing what to do. he ends up not shaking jisoo’s hand, though the awkward silence that follows makes him think maybe he should’ve. he’s grateful when jisoo finally turns the conversation back to the assignment.
he waits patiently as jisoo collects his thoughts, watching as he stares down at the instruction paper. hoetaek leans over just a tiny bit, not wanting to startle his new acquaintance while he tries to get a look at the paper. he’s just a little out of reach though so he goes back to waiting, until jisoo speaks again. “can I have a look?” he asks, holding his hand out for the paper. as he reads over the instructions, he starts to better remember when he’d had to do this particular assignment. he doesn’t remember all the details of what he ended up doing for it, but he does remember getting a decent enough mark.
“three different art styles, so that’s like pop art or cubism. and they you have to find a way to put them together, so that might influence what styles you chose,” hoetaek says, crossing one leg over the other under the table as he hands jisoo back his paper. “so you kind of have to decide how you want to combine them. do you want each style to blend into each other? or do you want them to contrast?”
“well actually i could say no. but i do appreciate your sincerity and the lack of reasons for needing my company. to be fair, now i really want to say no just because you don’t want me to say no, but it’s been like a whole fucking hour since the last time i smoked and i just can’t turn down this opportunity. i love blackening my lugs so much,” she quips as she pulls out a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of her suede coat and begins to walk towards the exit, chuckling slightly. “we don’t have to wait - this is my place and look, i have the treasurer: gold edition. i had to fucking order them from the states. but nothing feel better than smoking something that costs at least sixty dollars.”
hoetaek grins when yuna agrees to join him, not even deterred when she starts saying that his insistence that she couldn’t say no is making her want to say no. he’s kind of gotten used to the fact that this is just kind of how yuna is. she exudes an unapproachable aura that hoetaek just kind of... flat out ignores. he can’t really remember what it had been that compelled him to just start talking to her the first time, but he’d at least figured the worst that could happen would be that she’d simply tell him to fuck off. but she didn’t. and whether or not they’re actually friends now (hoetaek likes to think they are) or she just tolerates him for the sake of having someone to smoke with, hoetaek appreciated her company either way.
he slides off the table as she starts to walk, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his denim jacket and falling into step beside her. “well I’m glad I caught you now and not at a time when you’d be more inclined to say no just for the hell of it,” he says, jokingly. he pulls out his own packet of cigarettes, his old faithful brand he’s been smoking since high school, and pulls one out, tucking it behind his ear. he looks over when she mentions her smokes, eyebrows raising, impressed. “well damn, even your cigarettes are beautiful and expensive,” he comments, with just the slightest of teasing grins on his face as he heads up the stairs towards the roof. he does think they suit her, gold cigarettes specially imported. the right kind of sophisticated for someone like yuna.
“Oh, a liar and a player too~” She raises her eyebrows, winking at him before turning a back to his artwork smiling at him. The turn of phrase was clever enough to be said by Yoori, she often tried to think of something worth saying so not to fill the air with empty words and thoughts. Though she wondered if this was the most she’s ever spoken to someone she just met, she usually lets them do the talking. “I’ve met too many like you.” She says it a bit colder than the original, her own take she supposed. The men in her direct circle were players and liars, so it did add up. Especially in the case of one liar and player in particular. She wonders if his line could be true. Could be bit a kinder then the people she’s come across, warmer than the wealthy at this school. She hears Hermes egg him on in the music, “tell her what your working on.” She leans to hear his reply, her eyes trailing his figure this was her favorite part.
hoetaek takes a seat on a table, watching as this eurydice looks at his paintings, finding himself interested—and admittedly a little nervous—to know what she thinks of them. she clearly has impeccable tastes if she’s into musicals like hadestown, and there’s something about the way she holds herself that makes him think she’d give him her honest opinion. he makes the mental note to ask her what she thinks when the song is over. for now, he simply continues to smile as they continue their song, enjoying how easily the song’s wordplay seems to leave this eurydice’s lips.
he doesn’t miss the way her tone becomes colder, and it makes him curious. clearly she’s thinking of someone in particular when she sings I’ve met too many men like you, perhaps a few particular someones. however hoetaek doesn’t think to ask about this one after the song. they may be learning about each other fairly well through this song, but they’re also practically strangers. hoetaek doesn’t even know her name yet, asking about the players and the liars in her life seems far too personal. still, it does make hoetaek want to prove that, like orpheus, he really is not like that.
hermes encourages him to show her what you’re working on, and hoetaek’s smile returns as he tells her. “I’m working on a song,” he moves over to the painting he’d been working on when she’d entered—orpheus and eurydice, laying together in a field of flowers. “it isn’t finished yet, but when it’s done and when I sing it, spring will come again!” he maybe gets a little too into these lines, raising his arms and giving a spin when he tells her: “spring will come.”
talking to him always made her feel like a fifteen year old, maladroit heart and just a blundering mess in general. it’s not a new feeling, but it hits all the same each time, leaving her flustered whenever they speak. even if all they ever spoke about was seungah. she has to bite back a wider smile, careful to not let on just how much his presence is affecting her.
a smile tugs the corners of hoetaek’s lips upwards at how excited danbi is to see him. he doesn’t think he deserves it, wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d taken seungah’s side and decided to join her in deciding not to speak to him again. but it’s comforting to see that some things never change. she’s the same as she always is, bright smile and more energy than he could ever imagine having, and still happy to talk to him despite what he’s done to her friend. it cheers him up, just that little bit, helps the tension in his shoulders slowly start to ease. she looks nice, he notices. it’s not a surprise since she always looks nice, but it makes hoetaek suddenly hyper aware of how little effort he put into his appearance. he raises a hand to his hair, trying to flatten it out a little, doing his best to make it seem like a totally natural and lowkey thing to do.
he chuckles, just slightly, when she mentions the excuse she gave in order to come meet with him. “well, thank you, for not telling her I asked you to see me, and for even coming at all. I’m glad that you don’t, uh... hate me, for what I did to... her...” he maybe shouldn’t have added that last part, but he couldn’t help it. he wants her to know that he appreciates her. his gaze drops when she answers his question, turning his head to look out the window, a deep frown on his face. it makes sense, that seungah’s got her defences up. he really shouldn’t have expected much else. “I’m sure it’s hurting her much more than she’s letting on,” he says, voice barely louder than a whisper. seungah rarely lets out her true emotions in front of people, preferring to keep them close to her chest and her walls un-cracked. he was one of the few she let those walls down in front of, and now without him... well, this was why he’d asked danbi, to confirm what’s been eating him up inside.
he rubs his eyes, pressing his palms into them. he’s not about to start having a sobbing fest right here in front of danbi. that’s not why he asked her here. “I hate that I hurt her,” he murmurs. “I was supposed to be there for her, to comfort her through her pain, not be the one to cause it...” he takes a breath, deep, and slow. he has his hands still covering his eyes, and when he removes them, he manages to lift his cheeks into an apologetic smile. “sorry, I didn’t mean to ask you here just to lament about everything,” he tells her. “and I honestly didn’t just want to talk about her, though thank you for answering my question.” he sits up, doing his best to compose himself again. “how are doing, anyway? how are your classes going? give your number to any cute boys recently?” he tries to speak jokingly, lighten the mood, though his interest her answers is genuine.
“well, it’s a party full of horny and possibly drunk young adults.” ahri can’t help the heavy sigh that leaves her lips with hoetaek’s reminder that this might indeed be a crazy night. after all, it isn’t only a uni party, but also a famous one and it’s valentine’s day. people would most likely jumping on the chance of not only getting drunk but also having the opportunity to hook up with their crushes or whatever. it’d definitely be a crowded party, a crazy crowded party. ahri once again thinks that maybe she’s a little overdressed, or that at least she should be wearing something not so white, something not that suited for a dinner event. she pouts a little, looking at her pretty dress that could be ruined by the end of the night. such a pity. but it doesn’t take long for her to look at her date again and there’s this brief thought about how charming hoetaek looks while he’s driving, it’s brief and unimportant so ahri pays no mind to it. “i suppose it means that we’ll need to get very clingy with each other. we could go around a bit just to make sure everyone sees us, put a little of a show, before staying a little quieter in a corner. is it ok with you? or would you like to go with other strategy?”
hoetaek wasn’t nervous, not really, but when ahri asks, it’s like a switch gets flipped. suddenly there’s a twist in the pit of his stomach and a few beads of sweat forming at the nape of his neck. truth is, he hadn’t really let himself think about what was actually going to happen tonight, the number of eyes that are going to be on them, the rumours that are going to be confirmed. everyone will know after tonight—seungah will know after tonight—there’ll be no turning back after this. ahri asks if he’s nervous and it’s like every single possible reason he could be suddenly floods his brain. but... there’s concern in her tone, comfort in the words that follow, and hoetaek lets out a breath, the knot that was starting to form in his stomach relaxes slightly. his eyes find her face and he thinks that maybe they really can do this. he’s not alone, they’re in this together, and he’s grown to trust that she’s not going to lead him astray. besides, this is the whole point of the endeavour, right? for people to know that they’re together. they’re not doing this for nothing, but they might as well be if no one knows about them. “a little,” hoetaek admits after a moment. “but I think we’ll be okay. like you said, everyone’s going to be drunk anyway, and we have each other to lean on. we can do this.”
his smile, while still slightly teasing, is genuine as ahri slides into the car. he knows that acting this way—like the kind of boyfriend who opens doors for his girlfriend—is all part of their deal, but hoetaek is finding that he enjoys it. this really is what he’d be doing if they were actually dating, not because he thinks chivalry is dead or anything like that, but because it’s the way that ahri likes to be treated. he would do it to make her smile, and honestly, despite the fact that right now he’s mostly doing it to play the part, he probably is also doing it to make her smile.
hoetaek listens to ahri as he drives, making a face at the reminder that most of the people there are going to be horny and/or drunk. not that he thinks the party won’t be fun regardless, just that, well, people get a little crazy in these situations. the thought of it does make him realise that he’s probably going to be spending the night protecting ahri from unwanted attention. though hoetaek doesn’t imagine that he’s going to find that too much of a chore. even if they were just going as friends, hoetaek’s not the kind of person who’d just let some guy slide on up to ahri with obvious intentions. he’s going to have to be extra vigilant to make sure they stick together. his eyes stay on the road, but he nods along as ahri lays out her plan. “no, that sounds like a good plan. I trust your judgment, and I really I think the main thing we need to do is stick together. I don’t want to lose you in the crowd.” he glances sideways at her as he stops at a red light. “stick close to me, okay? and let me know if any guys start giving you suggestive looks across the club so I can glare at them and let them know you’re taken,” he adds, a little less jokingly then he means it too be, but really, he’s kind of not joking.
he finds a parking spot, expertly squeezing between two cars, on a street close enough to the club that they wont have to walk too far. his nerves are starting to return, and he stays seated for a moment after he turns off the engine, taking a few slow breaths to try and calm his suddenly racing heart. he looks over at ahri, once again drawing comfort from the fact that she’s there beside him, and reaches over to place his hand on top of hers, squeezing it gently. “this is it,” he says, his voice betraying the fact that he’s nervous, and he takes another deep breath. “are you ready?”
he eyes only followed hoetaek for a moment before he returned most of his attention onto what he was trying to do. his lighter didn’t want to play games for a moment, it took a couple of clicks for it to actually work, but after that he wasted no times in lighting up. seemed like his lighter was running out of juice, but he supposed that wasn’t a bother, he had loads of others scattered around his side of the dorm room. but, for the time being, he shoved the near-empty lighter back into his pocket, taking in a deep breath as he rested the join between two fingers, pulling it away from his mouth to exhale again. yeah, that was the good shit.
“not really,” he admitted almost lazily, letting his arm hand by his side as he rested his head against the wall, closing his eyes for a moment. “brain just needs a break.” he was starting to get a helluva headache from staring at all the textbooks scattered across his desk. slowly opening his eyes again, the junior shifted his shoulders on the brick wall, taking another hit, blowing the smoke out of his nostrils, ignoring the slight burn. “what about you?”
hoetaek slides his way down the wall he’s leaning against, siting himself down on the cold concrete floor and letting his head fall back against the brick behind him. his eyes move over to soobin again, watching as he struggles with his lighter. he’s about to offer the kid his own, but then the flame clicks on and he relaxes the hand that was about to move to his pocket, letting his gaze fall off soobin and move to the sky. he watches the clouds for a moment, the slowly darkening blue behind them. he lets his thoughts slow, his mind drift towards blankness. god, he’d needed this today.
he reacts slowly to soobin’s answer to his question, giving a gentle nod. he understands that feeling, the need for a mental break, it was probably one of the main things that pushed him towards this path. he takes another hit as he considers the returned question, letting the smoke linger in the back of his throat before exhaling it through his nostrils. yes is the easy answer, though it doesn’t feel right to just say it’s been a long day. he thinks of seungah, of the antagonising number of days that it’s been since they spoke last, of the guilt and the pain and the shit fucking feelings that hang heavy on his bones. he’s not about to regale soobin with his tales of woe, they’re not that close and he doubt the kid actually cares. but the beginning of his high is making him feel honest.
“it’s a long life at the moment, man.” he lets out a sigh with the exhale of his latest hit. “let’s just way that I wish that this...” he holds what’s left of his joint up, twirling it between his fingers. “...was more out of a want today, than a need.”
