Seven Days: Wednesday
Summary: Jaehyo desperately wants to fall in love, so he accepts everyone’s confession every Monday, dates them for a week, and ends up saying “I couldn’t fall in love with you, let’s break up.” Jiho is a boy who’s very oblivious to other girl’s feelings, and most of the girls he dates ends it for him. Sometimes asking someone out on a whim is a good thing.
Pairing: Jaeco(Jaehyo/Zico)
Word Count: 3K
Chapter 1 Chapter 2
Read the whole thing on AO3!
A/N: I took a break from writing the next chapter because I hadn’t been feeling up to it as of late. Hope you like this one! It took an awful long time! Also let’s imagine Jaehyo has a mole by his eye because if he didn’t the story wouldn’t progress lmao.
The day had been tranquil so far. The birds were chirping and flying lazily across the skyline, the morning sun infiltrating the heavy darkness of night. And unfortunately, it was another day to go to school, which meant another day for Jiho to ride on the train with several other students going the same route. Honestly, it was tiresome to walk by foot to the train station anyways. It wasn’t exactly the closest to his house. Still, he decided he would. He has no other means of transportation.
He starts his ascent up the flight of stairs, following the little blue and yellow arrows printed on the wall and on the ground, color coding which route should be followed. Bouts of other students in suits and skirts followed suit, so, Jiho wasn’t exactly alone. Jiho fixes his collar and drags his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it and seeing if he had any messages. None. So he decides to call Jaehyo, knowing he’d be up and rather chipper at this time in the morning. He lazily drapes the phone over his ear and attempts to sound as tired as possible. “Good morning.”
“You sound as sleepy as ever,” the boy on the other line retorts, “where are you now? The station. Which exit are you taking?” Jiho seems dazed for a moment as he ponders this. It’s like he temporarily forgot which exit he uses.
“Exit?”
“The North or South exit.” Jiho pauses for a moment, finally finishing his trek up the stairs. He looks around at the various color coded signs, figuring out exactly which one he uses. Most of the time, he doesn’t even really pay attention. He’s gone this way the whole time he’s been to high school, so, he doesn’t exactly memorize where he’s going anyways.
He comes to a conclusion. “Ah, the South, and I’m taking a shortcut now.”
“Ah, I thought so. I’m by the store. See you in a bit.” Jiho’s confused, but he gets no answer to his confusion as he swipes his card across the barrier for him to get in. He looks at his phone and it appears Jaehyo has hung up. Great. He just dims the screen and gazes around for a bit. He’s here...? As if the universe wanted his suspicions to be confirmed, as he looked to the left, there Jaehyo was, standing against a very cylindrical pillar near the store. There were girls gathered around him, and they seemed to be carrying on a conversation before Jaehyo had waved to his significant other.
He’s here. And some other people too. The girls were mumbling about who Jaehyo was waiting for, kind of in disbelief. Jiho says a warm greeting to the girls, and they bow their heads and return it warmly. It’s as if the girls are still experiencing surprise as they keep talking.
“How unexpected, even though Jaehyo doesn’t appear in club much. Do you get along well?” one of the girls asks. But Jiho doesn’t even address the question. He just dodges it in order to chide Jaehyo.
“I know right!? He never shows up.” The girls nod in agreement and all Jaehyo can do is uncomfortably shift up against the pillar.
One of the girls definitely remembers why she’d confronted Jaehyo in the first place, because she asks a question every girl does at the beginning of the week. “Ah, that’s right! Jaehyo, who are you going out with this week?” Her friend joins in and curiously leans in towards Jaehyo as well, expecting his answer. However, Jaehyo falters. Thank goodness, though, because Jiho comes and saves the day.
“Me,” he says bluntly, accompanied with a matter-of-fact smile. The girls break out in crippling laughter. They deny it, saying ‘no’ over and over again and seeming to find the situation more funny than it actually was.
“But, you do look good together,” she says. Jiho smiles warmly.
“Thanks.”
The girls don’t seem to want to stray away from the topic, though, so they press on. “But, Jaehyo, you don’t really say who you’re going out with, huh?” They keep pressing onto the boy, asking him who it is and begging him to tell them. However, Jiho holds his ground and tries to convince the girls he really isn’t joking.
“Like I said, it’s me.”
“Stop that! Putting that aside, who is it really? Tell us~ It’s an order!” They both stand in silence as the girls keep pushing Jaehyo. The awkwardness doesn’t even really go away then.
Jiho is sitting in class now, having his hand spread wide open. He’s ticking off fingers as he lists the things he and Jaehyo do. A good morning text, a good night text, eating together, shopping together, watching a movie...walking together to school? He notices he’s deep in thought, so he retreats, leaning back in his chair and stuffing his ticked hand into his pockets. He stares out the window, admiring the nature outside.
What exactly was “going out”? Normally going out....holding hands...I don’t get it. How far do Jaehyo’s standards go? Jiho leans back in his chair as he ponders this, eventually getting fed up with the idea and scratching his head in annoyance. He stares off into space for awhile, then lays his eyes on Kyung, who is looking at the board and finally paying attention for once. The metaphorical lightbulb dings in Jiho’s head.
Found it. A sample.
During break-time, Jiho slams his hands against Kyung’s desk, alarming him from the relaxed position he was in earlier. “Hey, did you do it? Did you do it?” Kyung looks at him with an incredulous look.
“Huh, do what?”
“I’m asking whether or not you did it.”
“Did what?”
Jihoon, who is sitting behind Kyung currently, is paying attention. He’s honestly just as confused as Kyung is.
“Like I said, Kyung, did you do it with Jaehyo?” Kyung narrows his eyes, and delivers a slap across Jiho’s face. Jiho yells out in alarm, clutching his reddening cheek as if it had been stabbed directly. The whole class stops in their tracks to look onwards at what’s happening.
“This is why girls always feel let down by you!” Meanwhile, Jiho is still clutching his cheek like his life had been changed forever by that slap, uttering ‘ow’s here and there whenever there was a pause in Kyung speaking. “Apologize to your parents who blessed you with that face.” Jiho doesn’t seem to get it, though, so he presses onwards.
“Then? How was it? Did you do it?”
Kyung furrows his brows, looking down and playing with the loosened button at the end of his blazer. “Why are you asking things like that...” He trails off his sentence and fixes the button, snapping it back into place.
Jiho finally moves his hand off of his cheek and kneels down, resting his crossed arms on the ends of Kyung’s desk. “Lately, I’ve been getting along with him, so it piqued my interest,” Jiho says with an earnest smile. Kyung still looks at him with a half confused and half stank face. Jiho looks as though he’s eager to learn more, putting his full attention on Kyung and resting his chin on his right fist.
Kyung crosses his arms, pondering in thought as he studies the ceiling. “Whether it’s the shoulders or hands, it felt like he won’t touch you unless it’s absolutely necessary. Though I’ve heard of girls forcing themselves on him to make it a reality. But he’s known for it...for never doing anything to the girls.” In the mean time, said guy is meandering through the halls, eventually waiting near the door, as he always has for three days straight.
“What a pity,” Jiho complains. He hears screams outside the doors from fangirling, and averts his eyes to the door. He sees Jaehyo there, as always. Kyung notices too.
“Speak of the devil. What? Are you really getting along well? He comes everyday, you know?” Kyung looks on for an answer, but Jiho doesn’t exactly give him a straight one.
“Well, I don’t know if he’s chasing skirts or what. Weird dude,” Jiho says with a weird laugh, standing up from his kneeling position. He flashes Kyung a smile before he moves over to the door, following Jaehyo out.
They both grab a strawberry milk and meet each other out on the balcony. It’s supposed to be a place where teachers frequently hang out, but students come there too. Jaehyo is leaning against the rails with his back turned, whilst Jiho is in the opposite position. “Seriously? You wasted no time coming, this break-time,” Jiho says, examining the label on the milk and the crazy cartoon character on the front. He averts his gaze over towards Jaehyo, locking eyes and making conversation a little less easy.
“Did it bother you?” Jaehyo returns, shifting his position a little.
Jiho returns to looking at his milk for a second and then back at Jaehyo. “Didn’t I say I hate just going along with people? If I didn’t like it, I’d say so.”
“That’s true.”
“I think you’re much more clever than you look.” A pause. Not uncomfortable, but weird enough between a conversation. It’s almost as if Jaehyo forgot who Jiho was talking to.
“Me?’
“Yeah, you,” Jiho returns, “You’ve been paying for me all of yesterday and today. This, too.” Jiho references to the pink container in his hands, almost emptied.
“Isn’t that normal? Since we’re going out.” Jiho reminisces about this morning, cracking a little smile and sipping a bit out of his drink.
“It’s not like anyone believes it, though.” A pause for Jiho to sip his drink. He hears the deathly suck of air and knows his strawberry milk is as good as gone. “Moreover, maybe it’s because I’m hanging with you today....it feels like there are more girls screaming than usual.”
“You don’t like it?”
“It’s not that I don’t like them.” Jiho shifts his position so he’s leaning a little less, looking out into the skyline to admire the buildings near the school. “If there were just a person who loves everything that I am, that’s enough, I guess.”
For the first time in a few minutes, Jaehyo looks away, staring at the ground. “Is that so. I think there are lots, though.”
“That’s rich, coming from you.”
“Hey, Jiho, today, after school--”
“Go to club practice.”
Jaehyo nods, as if he was expecting that kind of response.
“I’ll wait for you. Call me when you’re done,” Jiho kindly offers. Jaehyo’s face breaks out into a huge smile. “Well, if it gets boring I’ll go home, though.” Jaehyo shifts in alarm, complaining to the boy next to him.
“Wait for me~!” He leans over the railing with his chest leaning on it now, looking out at the buildings just as Jiho had been for a few minutes. “Then maybe I’ll do my best,” Jaehyo teases, leaning into Jiho jokingly. After he says that, he gives the boy space, putting a few inches between them. A comfortable blanket of silence then washes over them, and Jiho finishes the last drop of strawberry milk inside the pathetic little container.
Eventually though, his eyes avert over towards the boy who’s serenely looking into the horizon. He notices something on the boy he hadn’t before. He has a mole in a strange place. Right under his bushy eyebrow and almost by the crease of his eye is a small one, lingering there. Jiho thinks for a little bit more, and tilts his head. It isn’t dirt....right? He definitely knows this is a bold move, but he slides his hand against the other’s cheek, rubbing his thumb against the blemish. It doesn’t move.
Jaehyo seems alarmed by this movement and he’s questioning why the boy is doing this. However, they’ve been staring at each other and leaning millimeters closer for a few minutes, Jiho’s hand not moving. They both kind of wonder what would have happened if the bell did not chime signaling them back to class. It knocked them out of the dreamlike state, and Jiho moves his hand away carefully. They break eye contact and it’s awkward for a few seconds before Jiho remembers something awful.
“This is bad! I have to change classrooms for sixth period!” He hastily runs off, leaving Jaehyo confused out by the balcony. He attempts to move to grab him, but then he thinks better of it. After all, they both had to get back to class.
“I’m sorry,” Jaehyo suddenly says, and it throws Jiho for a loop. He turns around as he walks backwards. He’s confused.
“Why are you apologizing, that doesn’t make sense! I’m going!” However, Jiho is stopped by yet another interruption as he meets Jihoon in the hallway. “Jihoon!”
“You idiot,” he says to Jiho, as he hands out a book.
“Could that be...my textbook? Jihoon, I love you!” He engulfs the boy into a hug, catching him off guard. He mumbles a ‘yeah,yeah’ as the boy hugs him, obviously annoyed by the sudden public display of affection.
Jaehyo seems caught off guard too, because he doesn’t exactly stop what he says. “Jiho, that’s cheating.”
Jiho pulls off of his friend, them both looking at Jaehyo with a strange look. However, Jihoon seems to be the only one who’s seriously confused.
“What is cheating?”
“You’re right, cheating’s not good,” Jiho says, holding Jihoon’s shoulders as he pulls away from the embrace.
“You don’t sound sincere,” Jihoon snaps.
“I was.”
“Was not. Rather than that, what do you mean cheating?”
“Cheating is cheating,” Jiho says with a nod as he walks away. However, Jihoon is still confused and he wants answers, so he follows Jiho, shouting things to gain his attention.
Jaehyo is left there with an empty carton that once housed strawberry milk, and a tingling sensation on his cheek as he touches the same spot Jiho’s hand once was.
Jiho doesn’t seem to be as affected as Jaehyo was by the situation, which is why he’s sitting on the white bench outside. He’s waiting for Jaehyo to come home from practice, as promised. He looks out towards the water until he hears footsteps nearing. He sees Jaehyo standing there, giving him a wide smile and tossing him a drink. “Good work. It’s still barely warm.”
Jaehyo thanks him, taking the drink and pressing both his palms against it to test the temperature. “You’re right, it’s warm,” Jaehyo says with an equally widening smile. Jiho returns it and then looks out towards the sky.
“Did you get any praise?”
Jaehyo rubs the drink against his palms as he thinks about it. “It felt like they were vaguely picking on me.”
“It’s because you don’t show up for practice,” Jiho chides. Jaehyo smiles. He could probably get used to the complaints about his attendance from Jiho. Jiho gets up from his seat, getting as close to the railing as possible without falling over into a pile of bushes.
“I haven’t come here in awhile.” Here, being the nice spot right by the water a little ways from the train station. It had a beautiful outlook over the city skyline and the bridge connecting such parts. Jaehyo follows him to the railing, watching along with Jiho. Couples are walking by as they watch, a nice few inches separating them. “It’s full of stupid couples, as usual.” Before Jiho realizes it, he thinks about their situation for a minute. “Ah, we’re one too, huh?”
“Yes we are.” They both exchange laughter until a silence falls over them again.
“As expected, do you come here every week?”
“Some do people like this place...but there are also those who don’t.” Jiho nods. That makes perfect sense to him. Jiho looks as though he wants to say anything, but he doesn’t. They sit in comfortable silence, only the occasional movement for Jaehyo to fix his fringe or for Jiho to shift his postition. Eventually, though, his eyes find themselves upon Jaehyo again, and he can’t help but let his thoughts take over his mind once again.
In this atmosphere, you’d normally kiss, right? I wanna do it too. Unfortunately, his hopes are shattered once Kyung’s earlier words pop into his head.
Whether it’s the shoulders or hands...it felt like he won’t touch you unless absolutely necessary. Though I’ve heard of girls forcing themselves on him to make it a reality. But he’s known for it, for never doing anything to the girls.
Even so, Jiho’s mind still rattles off on what it was preoccupied doing a few hours prior. I knew it....It was a mole...right? He stares at the mark underneath the boy’s eyebrow again. In a place like this, your partner surely feels that way too, right? Surely.
Jaehyo finally notices there’s a pair of eyes staring at him again, so he makes eye contact with Jiho, his puzzled face very evident on his expression. How many girls, have tried doing this, I wonder? Jiho thinks, shutting his eyes for a bit and considering it. And, what would Jaehyo do? Jaehyo takes advantage of the situation and lingers closer, draping his hand against the railing to brace himself as he leans in.
Jiho doesn’t find out what Jaehyo does until he feels a soft pair of lips press onto his own. It’s a soft peck, but it doesn’t hesitate to open Jiho’s eyes in alarm as Jaehyo pulls back. He’s confused as he brings his hand up to his lips, touching it. “Huh?” Jaehyo doesn’t answer that perplexed noise, because he’s bringing his hand up to caress Jiho’s cheek the same way the boy did earlier, and bringing his lips back in towards Jiho’s, touching them together again.
Jiho’s eyes flutter to a close this time, relaxing into it for a few seconds. Jaehyo pulls away again, retracting his hand. Jiho averts his gaze to the water again, seeming to nod in understanding. Kyung....is full of lies. He shifts his position, bracing his back against the railing. “I fell for it,” Jiho says.
“Eh? What?” Jaehyo seems genuinely confused as he studies the face of the boy in front of him.
“Nevermind.”
Jaehyo feels as though he’s done something wrong as the silence overtakes them again, this time, much heavier.