Friend-Zone
Friend-Zoned
by: quixotic_notes
Rating: PG-13
Paring: Junsu/girl!Hyukjae, Donghae/girl!Hyukjae, Junsu/Taeyeon
Summary: Hyukjae and Junsu were always the best of friends.
.:|:.
Junsu stares at the young girl wordlessly, shocked by her demanding words.
“Let me play too,” the girl repeats, her petulant expression clearly conveying her want.
Junsu continues to stare at her, taking in image of her skinny figure, stick legs and fragile arms crossed over her chest in a demanding manner, before bending over laughing, not even trying to hide his amusement. In the midst of his laughter, he vaguely notices the girl’s displeasured face and barely registers the fact that she is moving until he notices his ball snatched from him and moving to whatever rhythm the girl dictates with her foot.
He isn’t laughing anymore, instead he’s shocked again by this girl, for a different reason from before, and he doesn’t bother to protest or grab his ball back as he watches her skillfully maneuver with her feet. For some reason, he is not surprised when she proceeds to kick the ball hard into the furthest goal and only lets his eyes fall the path of the ball as it stretches the net of the goal before landing on the ground softly. He stands motionlessly in his spot, his eyes rooted on the ball until an amused chuckle snaps him out of his daze.
The girl is smirking at him in pure and unadulterated pride,
“Am I that great?”
Junsu snorts and attempts indifference to her little show doesn’t really impress him, “A skinny runt like you? No way.”
His eyes gleam victoriously when her smirk disappears and lasts until he hears her reply, “Shut up. I’m taller than you,“ and frowns because what she says is true.
He racks his mind for a suitable comeback, but his brain doesn’t cope with pressure quite that well so he settles for sticking his tongue out in an immature fashion. He ignores the roll of her eyes and stifled giggles in favor of looking steadfastly at his ball lying lonely in the grass.
“My name is Hyukjae, what about you?” Hyukjae has her hand out in a gesture that imitates friendliness.
“ Junsu, emperor of all of Korea and thus your king,” he answers back haughtily, completely disregarding her attempt at friendliness and dashes to retrieve his ball. He can’t stop his grin as he hears an indignant yelp behind followed by the sound of running feet.
That was their fifth grade year.
.:|:.
In seventh grade, they are in the same class and end each day with a one-on-one soccer match. The teacher had allowed them to sit next to each other for the first month of school before forcing them apart, claiming that the mischief they caused would drive her insane.
It doesn’t matter too much, because they use their separation to experiment the best (and worst) methods for passing notes in class. Whenever the teacher catches them, they simply claim that they are learning practical applications of physics and therefore completely class-approved. Junsu always talks back a little too much and soon enough they’re kicked out of class, but they never do the punishment properly and instead focus on trying to get the other into more trouble than they’re already in.
Junho testifies that Junsu and Hyukjae are nothing short of a married couple and his accusations are always punctuated with an exasperated sigh. He recounts elaborated stories of their soccer games and intense video game competitions and soon all their classmates catch on, and it doesn’t take a long time for them to become the “class couple”. Hyukjae always blanches whenever one of her friends brings it up and firmly states that it is impossible, because Junsu was a lousy excuse for a pet dolphin and Junsu always laughs and claims that Hyukjae isn’t a girl, but a monkey in disguise and well…ew.
They stand firm in their beliefs, repeating to all who care to point out their supposed relationship instead of taking it for granted like most of their year had begun to do. Sungmin nods sympathetically when Hyukjae angrily recounts the story of her class’ idiocy, never pointing out that Hyukjae never fails to spend at least an hour with Junsu and Junho every day, while Junho simply rolls his eyes and tells Junsu to shut up when he complains about fifteenth time Yoochun sang obnoxiously, linking his name and Hyukjae’s.
.:|:.
Hyukjae was never one for dressing up. She wears big grey sweatshirts with ripped jeans on her free days, and wouldn’t ever wear a skirt if not for their school uniform. Following the logic derived from this decidedly unfeminine nature, Junsu classifies her into separate category (dubbed most eloquently, “My Subject”) where her femininity was only a sub-category. All of his memories of Hyukjae include dirty soccer balls and sweaty dance practices and he has a sneaking suspicion that Hyukjae is truly male and that God decided to screw him over because it’s Hyukjae.
But one day, Hyukjae comes bounding through his door on a random day like a godsend to distract him from his math homework, and grabs his hands before twirling him around the room, dancing because Siwon, the Choi Siwon, the Female-Terminator-Dimply-Choi Siwon, had asked her out. After that night, he starts to notice the slight swell in her chest and the start of curves around her waist and compares her maturing body to his own immature one, fully conscious of his shorter stature.
.:|:.
Junsu knows everything about Hyukjae’s and Siwon’s relationship, because Hyukjae tells him, without fail, every little thing that Siwon does for her: from the roses he bought for no reason to the shy brushing of hands at the movies. He’s not sure if he likes what Siwon is doing to Hyukjae, who would now rather go shopping for short skirts and dresses for her date next week than playing soccer with Junsu and Junho and has the gall to stumble around in three-inch heels. But when he expresses his discontentment with the fact it’s been ages since he had a decent soccer match, his older twin simply pats his head fondly and replies,
“How cute, Junsu is jealous!”
He goes to Yoochun for comfort, seeing as his own brother proves to be useless, only to be met with an apologetic, “I thought she was waiting for you to ask her out,” before giving up on Hyukjae and decides to move on with his life by joining the soccer team.
The team meets him with instant love and adulation, but he can’t help but to want Hyukjae’s smirk and defiant, “That’s all?” more than before.
.:|:.
“Junsu-ah, are you going to the studio today?”
Junsu looks at Hyukjae surprised by her sudden appearance. He stares at her blankly, not quite processing the fact that for the first time in weeks, months perhaps, she voluntarily came to him instead of meeting him at the studio after walking Siwon home. The lack of words give an negative impression to her, who frowns after a few moments of silence and turns on her heel to walk away, leaving an irritated “Fine, be that way!” over her shoulder.
Alarmed, he scrambles around, shoving his feet in his shoes haphazardly and runs to catch up with his friend’s brisk pace. He entertains the thought of asking her about Siwon, before seeing her tense shoulders and ditches that thought. There’s something off, and so he watches her tensely, not breathing a word. They continue to walk; not quite familiar, and not entirely comfortable, but content with each other’s presence until Junsu suddenly stops, prompting a strange look from the girl.
“I’m taller than you!” Junsu grins. His grin only grows while Hyukjae’s eyes widen. He watches as she scrambles closer to compare, as she frowns with realization, and as her shoulders drop with resignation.
She eyes him carefully, slowly scanning his figure and humphs, “I guess it was bound to happen sometime,” she says, “But your face still looks like a dolphin’s butt,” and when a wry smile graces her lips Junsu finds it in him to laugh and laugh and laugh, throwing a casual arm around her shoulders.
She doesn’t quite get why he’s laughing, but it’s okay, because soon enough she’s laughing with him, and listening avidly to all his misadventures in the soccer club.
A few hours later they’re at a small cozy café. Hyukjae tells him that Siwon left her for a pretty new girl named Heechul, but it’s okay she says, because now she can eat as much as she wants again.
Somehow this puts Junsu in a good mood, not quite good enough to stop teasing her, but good enough to graciously pay for her disproportionately large part of the meal.
.:|:.
Hyukjae dates a few more guys after Siwon. Some boys were nice, some weren’t, and some mattered more than others.
Junsu also dates a few girls. Some stay with him until he gets tired, others get tired first and leave him, but they all say the same thing,
“You never really liked me did you?”
He insists he did, because Taeyeon had a beautiful smile that made his heart warm, and Jessica had fit in his arms so perfectly, but they shake their heads and walk away with a sad smile.
He doesn’t understand for a long time, but one day Hyukjae storms into his house cursing everything and everyone, crying inconsolably because Donghae did something stupid again and he starts to understand.
.:|:.
Siwon may have been her first boyfriend, and her first kiss, but that was about it.
Donghae was her first love though. He was also her first date on the beach, her first kiss on the school rooftop, and her first time at some cheap, but clean motel.
Junsu thinks he knows a little too much about Donghae for comfort. He doesn’t really want to know that the guy believes in aliens, or that he cries as much, if not more, than Hyukjae does while watching some sad movie.
And he really doesn’t want to know about their dates, or about all the nice little things Donghae does for Hyukjae while they’re out.
He does like hearing about their fights though. One week they’re attached to the hip, the next Hyukjae leeches onto Sungmin like the older girl is her lifeline, and the week after it’s Donghae who refuses to even look at Hyukjae.
He likes it when they fight and Hyukjae clings to him just a little more than usual; it makes him think he has a chance.
He knows he doesn’t really though, and he knows by the weekend one of them will cave in and apologize.
The following Monday they come to school hand in hand, as if all was well in the world.
.:|:.
Donghae’s a really cool guy, Junsu thinks.
They’re on the field, kicking the ball around laughing at some stupid joke.
After practice Hyukjae picks Donghae up from the club room. She yells good-bye to Junsu while Donghae drags her away to this new arcade in town.
He’d be cooler if he wasn’t Hyukjae’s boyfriend though, Junsu thinks.
.:|:.
They’re both in their senior year of high school. Their classmates no longer make fun of the fictional couple, because Donghae has a strangely possessive streak that Hyukjae doesn’t seem to really mind.
They’re always on and off, those two. This week is an off week. Donghae had somehow ruined her favorite teddy bear, and in his careless haste to keep Hyukjae from leaving he had also ripped her favorite shirt. Apparently to top it all off he had the gall to cancel their long awaited two year anniversary date to practice for the big soccer match coming up.
Junsu listens carefully and nods at all the right times and feeds her strawberries. He doesn’t tell her Donghae pleaded with the coach and ran ten laps around the field in a vain attempt to get the day off.
But despite it all he catches Donghae and Hyukjae making out in an isolated corner of the school after the biggest soccer match of the season.
He turns away quickly, but he hears all about the gigantic teddy bear Donghae had bought her later while they’re playing video games at his house.
Hyukjae wears her brand new shirt.
.:|:.
Some say they won’t make it past high school graduation, others say they’ll get married right after.
Turns out they do break up after graduation, but before their freshman year of college is over they’re back together.
Junsu doesn’t date anymore, but he’s not opposed to one night stands either.
.:|:.
They’ve graduated college now. Junsu doesn’t quite know every little detail about the cute things Donghae does for Hyukjae, and he knows even less about their numerous fights. The two of them stayed in Seoul, different districts, but not so far that they can’t see each other.
They don’t see each other every week regardless. Maybe an occasional text here, a casual call there, a friendly meet-up with the gang from high school when they feel particularly nostalgic.
Hyukjae makes new friends from work, and she no longer “breaks up” with Donghae every other week.
Junsu doesn’t really know that much though, he has his own life after all.
.:|:.
A few years later Junsu gets a call from Hyukjae. It’s urgent she insists, and she even forgoes the usual insults, so he rushes out of work to a small café he always met Hyukjae at and seats himself without much ado.
She’s drinking a strawberry milkshake and eating strawberry shortcake, and he raises his eyebrows because the last time they met she was watching her figure. But he begins some small talk, about his day, about work, about everything, but about nothing that matters. He talks until he runs out of useless things to say, and by that time Hyukjae is ready to talk to him.
Hyukjae shifts her eyes around a bit, she catches a quick glance at his eyes before breathing out,
“Donghae proposed to me.”
Junsu isn’t shocked, but something close to it strikes his heart. He can’t quite find it in his brain to formulate an intelligent response, he was never good at that after all, but in the end he doesn’t have to, because Hyukjae talks again.
“I said yes.”
Then he responds the only way he knows how,
“I’m not going to be one of your bridesmaids.”
She laughs outrageously, diffusing the tension Junsu didn’t quite realize he was feeling, and they talk some more about other useless things.
He decided to give up a long time ago, but he never really got around to actually doing it. But in the end he pays for her share because he can’t quite say congrats sincerely. Not yet.
.:|:.
Junsu stands in a neat row with seven other men dressed exactly the same way he is. Donghae insisted that he be a groomsman, even though Hyukjae tried so hard to make him her maid-of-honor.
He watches as Donghae waits nervously at the altar, fidgeting with his hands.
He watches as Hyukjae enters the chapel, in full wedding regalia, all white and bright smiles. She’s nervous, he knows from the way she’s gripping her father’s hand tightly and the way she watches the floor carefully as if she would trip any second now.
She doesn’t trip, and soon Donghae takes her hand from her father, and her grip becomes just a little tighter.
They say their vows, and the priest asks if anyone has objections. No one objects, but Junsu spends a quick minute to imagine what if.
The priest tells those who might’ve object that they are to forever hold their peace.
Junsu doesn’t think he has much of a choice as he watches Donghae take Hyukjae into his arms for a warm kiss.
.:|:.
He still sees Hyukjae time to time. They no longer play soccer together, and instead sit at their usual café for long talks about nothing.
One day Hyukjae mentions she hasn’t seen him with a girl for the longest time.
“If you don’t find a girl soon they’re all going to be turned off by your wrinkly dolphin face,” she comments off-handedly. She wrinkles her nose playfully and Junsu says it’s a miracle that anyone would marry her.
He tries dating again. Some girls are really nice; others are just really good in bed. He meets Taeyeon again, and he thinks why not?
.:|:.
It takes a few months, but one day he’s out on a double date with Donghae, Hyukjae, and Taeyeon. He catches Donghae kissing Hyukjae softly before going away to get their food.
His heart doesn’t drop to his stomach, but he’s too busy feeding Taeyeon to notice it.
He doesn’t really get why Taeyeon seems just a little bit happier than usual, but he doesn’t question it.
Junsu, for his part, is too busy being happy with her to really care.
.:|END|:.