LOVE KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES...CHAPTER 14.1/?
Title: Love Knows No Boundaries
Author: tikibuddy91
Characters: EXO (small mention of Jongin, Sehun and Joonmyeon), BAP (mostly Himchan, Jongup, & Yongguk); SECRET (only Hyosung and Jieun)
Word Count: ~6350
Rating: PG
Genre: College, AU, Crossover
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 happy endings.
Author Note: OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS. I AM STILL RECOVERING FROM MY EXO FEELS FROM THE OTHER DAY WHEN EXO-K WENT TO VISIT SCHOOLS AND HOMES FOR THE DEAF. ;A; IT'S LIKE MY HOPE FOR IDOLS TO GIVE SOME RECOGNITION TO PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAF LIKE ME. but i feel like they must have seen this fic and decide to learn some sign language.. OTL Anyway...back to the author note. AND THEN THERE WAS THAT BAP RELEASE OF CRASH AND THE "I REMEMBER" WITH BYG & JUNG. DAE. FREAKING. HYUN. *SOBS*
Author Note 2: This is Part 1 of Chapter 14. It is a loonngg chapter, holy crepes. I'll post the 2nd part later. Here goes: Himchan meets Jongup's friends; a little bit of the Moons brothers' past is revealed; Himchan finds out something startling about Yongguk, and eventually finds himself working with Yongguk on a project; Himchan forgets his notebook and Yongguk tries to return it; Hyosung has a reunion with an old, familiar friend; Himchan explains to his girlfriend, Hyosung, about his thoughts.
Author Note 3: The first part of Ch 14 mainly focuses on three members from BAP's side with a small dash of SECRET. Himchan sure has a funny way of making "R-friendly" curses into "PG-friendly" sayings. That was me before I got corrupted in my late years of high school with all the cursings. I still use these kid-friendly quotes, so all of what Himchan thinks and says in this part were actually from my own experience. The second part of Ch 14 will mainly focuses on some members of EXO, I promise. :3...and then it will have some BAP too :) Please anticipate it~
Sign Language Guide
Families
Prologue | Jongdae | Chapter 1 | Daehyun | Chapter 2 | Zitao | Chapter 3 | Kyungsoo | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 |
When the Moon brothers arrive at their campus, Jongup sees Jongin and Sehun at the entrance gates with Joonmyeon. They seem to be hanging around, chatting. He points to them as he tells Himchan, “Hyung, see the tan guy and two pale guys next to him? Two tall ones and a short one?” Himchan glances in the direction where Jongup is pointing, and he quickly catches sight of the described trio before looking back at the road. He nods and Jongup continues, “That’s Jongin, Sehun and Joonmyeon-hyung.”
“Hyung?!” Himchan splurts, his eyes taking off the road, and looks at Jongup. “You just met the group two days ago and Joonmyeon wants you to call him hyung?” Jongup nods. “How old is he…He looks young. Actually, never mind. He looks mature now that I see it.”
Jongup blinks at him and he lets his eyes go astray, “Uhh…I don’t know. I didn’t ask.” He scratches his nose.
“Yah, babo~” Himchan lets out in a singsong voice along with a heavy sigh. Himchan finds a parking spot and parks his car. Turning off the engine, Himchan gets out of the car, shaking his head in amusement.
Jongup grins and gets out of the car, bringing his backpack with him. Himchan opens the backseat door to get his laptop bag before he locks his car with his remote. They then make their way towards the Kim trio and greet the three guys, bowing to them.
Surprised, Jongin, Sehun and Joonmyeon whirl around, and immediately, their eyes first land on Jongup’s company, feeling intimidated by his height. They nervously greet Jongup, and bow to his companion. Jongup is oblivious to their nervousness, looking at them with a smiling goofy face. Himchan, who is behind Jongup, nods his head nonchalantly at the trio, and glances at Jongup before clearing his throat, and Jongup realizes that both parties have not met each other before. Once Jongup introduces the Kim trio to his older brother, the atmosphere becomes less awkward.
“Joonmyeon-sshi, I hear from my brother that he calls you hyung. How old are you?” Himchan inquires, and Joonmyeon answers back without skipping a beat, “21 years old, on my 4th year of Journalism.”
“Ahh, looks like I’m a year older than you; 22 years old and I’m a grad student in Music.” Himchan nods, satisfied with Joonmyeon’s answer. “I suppose it is okay that he can call you hyung, since you three are relate-“
Jongup, Jongin, Joonmyeon and Sehun interrupt him at the same time with apologetic smiles on their faces.
“Hyung, they’re not, haha.”
“No, Joonmyeon-hyung isn’t our brother.”
“Er, I’m sorry but we’re not all related.”
Himchan looks between the four of them before resting his eyes on Jongup. “Oh? But you guys have Kim as your surnames…”
Joonmyeon nods, replying, “We have the same surname but I am really and literally not Jongin and Sehun’s older brother. I am a close friend of theirs actually, that’s all.” With that, he smiles.
“Oh, my apologies,” Himchan bows his head. “Jongin-ah and Sehun-ah, thank you for being friends with my Jonguppie here. I’m glad that he found you guys through dancing.” He ruffles Jongup’s head, and Jongup gives a slight whine at being called “my Jonguppie” in front of his friends. This earns a chuckle from Joonmyeon and smiles from Jongin and Sehun.
“Yah,” Himchan brings his arm to hang around Jongup’s neck, and brings Jongup closer to him. Jongup stumbles a bit before he finds himself standing slightly in front of Himchan, and he brings up his hands to hold onto Himchan’s arm for leverage. Himchan whispers in Jongup’s ear, “I’m your only older brother. You’re my only little Jonguppie; deal with it. I don’t care if your friends are around or not, I’m still calling you ‘my Jonguppie’.” Himchan chuckles, and he glances at the Kim trio as they stand there, peering at them curiously. “Besides, it’s just you and me. What’s wrong with showing a little familial affection?” He ends it with a peck to Jongup’s cheek as he lifts his arm to cradle Jongup’s head. Having let go of Himchan’s arm, Jongup blushes and bows his head.
Feeling a little amused, Jongin and Sehun walk up to Jongup and Jongin tells him, “Jongup-goon, let’s get going to our science class! Joonmyeon-hyung, Himchan-sshi- “
“Please, call me Himchan-hyung. Jongup’s friends with you all.” Himchan smiles.
“Oh, okay, Himchan-hyung.” Jongin grins back. “We’ll be on our way now, we’ll see you guys later!” The Kim twins and Jongup begin to make their way to their science class.
“Ah, Jongup-ah, Hyosung-noona will be joining us for lunch. I’ll see you later!” Himchan salutes. Jongup nods and is about to turn around when Joonmyeon makes a suggestion.
“Oh, why don’t you three join us for lunch, it’ll be quite a big group, but I’m sure the others will not mind.”
“Er…thank you, Joonmyeon-ah, I’ll think about the offer. We might stop by if we decide to join you guys, because…ermm…I’m not sure if we’ll be eating outside of campus or not.” Himchan nervously replies, remembering a few days ago when he saw Bang Yongguk and his group of friends move over to where Joonmyeon and his group were seated. While he was eating lunch that day and chatting with Hyosung and Jongup, who was in a daze after seeing the dirty blond haired guy, Himchan kept sneaking glances at Yongguk. He has felt conflicted of what he thinks of Yongguk since then.
With a pang of realization, Himchan remembers he will be seeing Yongguk this morning, and that Yongguk better returns his notebook ‘in pristine condition’, as he puts it.
“I…should go. Jongup-ah, meet me at the same spot as last Tuesday, okay?” Himchan says distractedly, brushing past the group before he places his hand on Jongup’s shoulder to give it a little squeeze.
“O-okay, hyung. I’ll see you later.” Jongup answers back. Jongin slides one of his arms on Jongup’s shoulders and tugs him gently, signaling that they should get going to class. Joonmyeon waves at them as they part ways.
Walking to the science class, Jongup remembers something. “Wait, what about the others?”
“Oh, Luhan-hyung and Yithing-hyung went ahead of usth. Jongdae-hyung and Zthitao-hyung will be on their way sthoon. The others will be on their way too.” Sehun replies casually.
“The others?” Jongup is curious.
“Oh yeah, you haven’t met the others. We met Kyungsoo-hyung, Baekhyun-hyung, Chanyeol-hyung, Daehyun-hyung, Youngjae-hyung, Yongguk-hyung, JB-hyung, and Jieun-noona through Joonmyeon-hyung during lunch, after you left us to join your brother. You’ll meet them later at lunch.” Jongin assures Jongup, when Jongup looks at him with wide eyes at a list of names. Jongup whispers under his breath, “That’s a lot of hyungs for you guys.”
Jongin does not fail to catch what Jongup says, and laughs before he brings up a different topic. “So, Jongup-ah, what’s the deal between you and your brother? You seemed embarrassed by Himchan-hyung calling you Jonguppie today, when the other day, you hardly seemed fazed with him shouting your name out loud.”
“Er…it’s nothing. I mean, it’s kind of complicated,” Jongup says meekly.
Jongin and Sehun look at each other before looking at Jongup. “Is…there some ‘more-than-personal’ thing going on with you two? Like…incest?” Jongup is silent.
“Jongup, whatever you have to say about that, I…er…we totally respect you for that, right, Sehun?” Jongin glances at Sehun, before looking back at Jongup. He tugs Jongup gently with his arm around Jongup’s shoulders.
“Wha…WHAT? NO.” Jongup spins to face Jongin and Sehun, their faces looking confused. Shaking his head violently, he denies the question. “No, it’s not like that. No. Just no, Jongin-goon. It’s not incest, I swear.” Jongup gulps. He stops, causing the twins to stop as well.
“It’s just…he’s my only sibling that I have. Erm…he’s my only family member, that I have, really.” Jongup looks down.
Both Jongin and Sehun exchange looks of “oh”, as if they are caught listening to a dark secret. “Wow, Jongup…we…didn’t know. We’re sorry to hear that.”
“It’s okay…th-they passed away 8 years ago.” Jongup says almost silently, his voice cracking, before he raises his head up to smile. “Himchan-hyung has always taken great care of me, even when we were living with different relatives. It is thanks to him that I’m able to attend college. Hyosung-noona is a close friend of ours, she and Himchan got together for some time after our parents…passed on. Anyway,” he sniffles a bit and blinks. “It’s too early for this kind of talk; we have a class to get to. Shall we?” Jongin and Sehun cannot help but catch Jongup’s eyes slightly watering. They give small smiles at him and nod, continuing on to their class.
- - -
Meanwhile, Himchan arrives at the music lecture auditorium ten minutes before class starts. He goes down the lecture hall steps to sit in the front row and places his laptop bag under his seat when he hears a throat clearing behind him. He ignores it and thinks the person is just clearing his throat either for the sake of nothing or to talk with someone else. A low voice whispers in his ear, startling Himchan really badly that he jumps out of his seat.
“So, princess, here’s your notebook ‘in pristine condition’, just as you’ve requested.” Himchan whips around in his seat to find Yongguk’s smiling face dangerously close to his face. He quickly jumps in his seat, away from Yongguk, knocking against his neighboring student who also happens to be in deep conversation with his neighbor. After apologizing to the students, Himchan huffs and grits out a “Thank you, Bang Yongguk” as he regains his composure and snatches his notebook from Yongguk, who is holding it out with two hands in the same manner as a knight would present a gift to a queen. Yongguk replies with a wink and an “Mhm, and thank you, Himchannie.”
Himchan stares at him in disbelief before turning around to face the front. He looks down at his notebook and opens it, scanning the pages for any damages. Not wanting to admit it, he is surprised that there are no ripped pages nor scribbled notes. He nods to himself and turns to a new page for writing. With at least five minutes left before class starts, Himchan pulls out a book to read, William Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
A tap on Himchan’s right shoulder. He turns his head around, thinking it is his neighbor…
Boop….Himchan’s cheek collides with a lean finger, and it hurts.
Knowing exactly who is behind him, Himchan sucks his cheeks inward to avoid yelling at Yongguk and, taking a deep breath, he ignores him and continues to find the line that he was reading in the book before he got distracted.
Few seconds later, a tap on Himchan’s left shoulder. He turns his head again….
Boop…Himchan’s other cheek collides with a lean finger; once again, Himchan gets fooled. He hears a chuckle behind him, and he takes another deep breath to control whatever dignity he has left inside of him.
“I would appreciate it if you would cease doing that, Yongguk-sshi. You see, I am busy reading my book,” Himchan growls as he glares at the culprit. Yongguk chuckles and replies, “Alright, I will stop. After all, ‘the fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.’” Yongguk says the quote in perfect English and Himchan’s eyes widen. Did he just quote Shakespeare now? Himchan thinks to himself.
“’I do desire we may be better strangers,’” The English words slip out of Himchan’s mouth and it only takes a few seconds for Himchan to realize what he has just done. He clears his mind and stares at Yongguk, who is grinning at him as he says a familiar quote, a popular one that when everyone hears it, they know the title of the book already.
“’All the world’s a stage, my friend,” Yongguk ad-libs a bit, still in perfect English, “and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time…”
“ - Plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” Himchan mouths the rest of the line in awed silence as Yongguk finishes. “You’ve read this before?” Switching back to Korean, he brings up his Shakespeare book to show to Yongguk. Yongguk nods and answers, “It is one of my favorite books from Shakespeare.”
“Same for me,” Himchan eyes Yongguk warily. “What others do you like? Romeo and Juliet?” He scoffs because he assumes people would love the overrated ones.
“Come on, two teenagers falling in love and wanting to get married despite their families’ wishes as well as their families’ rivaling reputations, and even more so willing to put their lives at stake? They’re only teenagers, Himchannie. That one is okay, but I prefer Hamlet, All’s Well that Ends Well, The Tempest, The Two Noble Kinsmen, and Twelfth Night. Those with war and conflicts.”
“Oh my god,” Himchan breathes. “You really do know Shakespeare. You’ve thrown me off guard, because you do not seem like the type of person to read th-”
“Okay, class is about to start. Let us listen to the music once again from last Tuesday.” The booming voice of the professor startles Himchan and Yongguk from their dialogue as he enters the classroom. The two students regain their composures and are ready to take notes, Himchan putting away his book. For the rest of the duration of the class, Himchan feels a little distracted, looking back at the moment when Yongguk was reciting the lines from Himchan’s favorite book. The way Yongguk gazed at him. The sexy, low and husky voice that washed over Himchan’s very inner soul, and Himchan cannot help but shudder in his seat, bringing himself to reality in an instant.
As an excuse to look attentive in class, Himchan waits for anyone behind him to ask a question or answer the professor’s question when really, he wants to sneak a peek at Yongguk. My gosh, what am I doing?, Himchan frets in his mind as he looks away from Yongguk for the seventh time to pay attention to the professor’s lectures of not-so-famous traditional songs. This is so not like myself, thanks to that…nincompoop. But he’s not so bad, he knows Shakespeare…That voice…Oh man, it’s making my ears just wanna…Agh, stop. STOP. HYOSUNG. Yes, I have Hyosung. I like her, I mean, I love her…do I love her?.....she’s fun and funny, she’s cool, she’s cute, she’s gorgeous... I love her, right?…Right?, Himchan widens his eyes in shock at his internal conflict.
…Good Lord.
“ - and your partner will be submitting a project due by the end of the first half of the term, in 3 months. That will be all, class dismissed.”
Himchan gasps with a start, when he hears students bustling out of their seats, ready to leave the auditorium. With another gasp, he is struck with realization that he has not paid much attention today and he looks at his notes. Oh my god, what the heck is all this?!
Somewhere along his notes, Himchan starts to see the names ‘Yongguk’ and ‘Bang Yongguk’ appearing in his sentences. He notices that he has drawn little hearts and musical notes. Reddening, he shuts his notebook quickly, hoping no one sees it. He looks around for the professor, but to his bad luck, he just sees the professor leaving out the door. He does not move from his seat, still in shock.
“Will this knight in shining armor have the honor to collaborate with Princess Himchan on this task expected in three moons’ time?” A voice comes up to him, and Himchan gulps, his eyes darting to his left to see Yongguk making a deep bow with a smirk.
As quickly as Himchan can compose himself, he scoffs and looks away. He gets up from his seat and starts gathering his stuff, except for his notebook, into his laptop bag. He retorts, “You wish. And what did I tell you about ‘princess’? Like heck I would work with you, I’d rather work with an ogre than with you. I’ll find someone else to work with, thank you very much.”
Slinging his laptop bag over his shoulder, Himchan looks up and around the auditorium. There is hardly anyone else around, only a few people who seem to have already teamed up. Knowing that there is no other choice, Himchan deeply sighs and bows his head, turning his head slightly to see if Yongguk is still there. Of course he is, that…devil, Himchan mutters in his mind, looking away once again. Is he gonna chuckle and give me that smirk or that gummy smile that I absolutely despise? Himchan turns around to face Yongguk, saying “fine, looks like I have no choice but to jo-“
Himchan is surprised at what he sees.
Yongguk is watching him with some kind of unreadable expression; Himchan is not sure if Yongguk is keeping a straight face or if he is trying to keep a straight face.
“Do you really hate me that much? It’s just a project, we don’t have to be ‘friendsy’ or anything, consider us classmates and nothing else.”
Himchan’s jaw slightly drops in disbelief. He starts to redden out of shame, and gulps. “N-no, I…er…don’t hate you. It’s just…uhm…I…” Trailing off to avoid any longer eye contact, Himchan’s eyes starts to follow downward to trace the outline of Yongguk’s face, jawline, neck, Adam’s apple, arms - those arms, oh dear god - hands, and down to the ground, skipping Yongguk’s lower body parts. He breathes in with a hiss, feeling something stirring in his stomach, realizing what he has done. “I’m sorry, I gotta go. I’ll see you later.” He quickly leaves Yongguk, unaware that he has left his notebook at his chair.
“Wait! I don’t have your contact information!” Yongguk moves to stop him but Himchan has gone up the stairs with lightning speed and is out of the classroom. He looks to Himchan’s chair and sees that the notebook is lying on top of the chair. Yongguk grabs the notebook and runs up the stairs, following Himchan.
“Wait! Your notebook! Himchan! Moon Himchan!” Once Yongguk reaches outside of the classroom, he looks around to find his classmate but to no avail. “Crap, how will I give this back to him?” He walks to the nearest bench and sits down, looking at Himchan’s notebook in his hand. He stares at it for the longest time, and he figures, Maybe his contact information is in here.
Yongguk looks around, feeling a little guilty and hoping that he will not get caught by Himchan. He opens the notebook gingerly to the first page, and sees nothing but “Property of: Moon Himchan”. He checks the next page and it is already the start of Himchan’s notes.
Ahh, what kind of person writes “Property of (name)” on the first page, this isn’t primary school anymore…, Yongguk scowls. But it is kind of cute, though. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to see what Himchan wrote for notes today, I might have missed out on some key points. He leafs through the pages to the current date, and his jaw drops at what he sees. Yongguk stares at his own name written across the page with little hearts and musical notes, and some English words from Shakespeare. Feeling a little embarrassed, he closes it hastily.
Blinking, Yongguk still recalls the image of Himchan’s notes with his names on it, and an air of giddiness fills his chest. He chuckles to himself as he puts Himchan’s notebook into his laptop bag. “So, Moon Himchan, looks like you’re falling for me. You can’t deny it.” He then heads to his next class that only lasts 50 minutes, feeling a little giddier by the minutes.
- - -
Himchan is sitting down at a bench after having ran out of the classroom and hurriedly walking around the campus for no reason. He opens his laptop bag when a sickening feeling creeps on him. He searches around his laptop bag, thinking that something is missing from his bag, and that is when he freezes mid-action. Eyes widening as realization strikes him, he whispers out in a horrified voice, “NO. Oh my god, NO NO nonononononono NO. Please don’t tell me I seriously forgot my notebook.” He frantically searches every nook and cranny of his laptop bag and it confirms his thoughts that he truly did forget his notebook back in the classroom. Slapping his forehead, he freaks out and looks around for his classroom building.
Another gasp. What if Yongguk found out? Ohmygodthisisnothappening, Fudge Fudge Fudge Fudge FUDGE. Himchan moans in dismay, praying that Yongguk has not opened it, or anyone else for that matter. Chanting pleasepleaseletitstillbethere, he picks up his laptop bag and runs to his classroom building, ignoring the stares from the people around him.
When Himchan gets there, the classroom is empty. He moans out loud in despair and walks out of the classroom to bang his head against the wall. Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot, he chants to himself. I have a project I’m supposed to start on today and I don’t even have my freaking notebook. Dangit.
- - -
Hyosung is driving to Himchan and Jongup’s college after her interview is finished. She feels she has done well and her teacher has been most certain that Hyosung will be automatically hired as a teacher assistant, notifying her that a phone call will be made within next week.
Once Hyosung parks in the visitor’s parking lot, she gets out of the car and makes her way to the Food Court when suddenly, on her way to the Food Court, she sees a glimpse of someone familiar, sitting on a bench reading something. Staring at her, she recognizes the female student to be the same one she saw two days ago during lunch. Feeling like she is being watched, the student looks up and they make eye contact. Something inside Hyosung’s chest is stirring as she continues to hold her gaze. Then the female student gives a faint smile before looking away. Hyosung cannot fight the feeling that she looks familiar, and decides to be initiative and get to know this person.
“Excuse me,” Hyosung walks over to the seated female student. The female looks up and quickly looks down. “Excuse me,” Hyosung repeats and the female looks up slowly at her. “Hi, do I know you? ‘Cause you know, you look familiar.”
The female side-glances both sides before looking up at her. “Uhm? No?” She slowly shakes her head and looks down to continue reading her notebook.
Hyosung blushes, remembering that she has just made a blunt question. “I’m sorry for being rude,” she apologizes, bringing the seated lady’s attention to her once again. “My name is Jun Hyosung. I’m an alumna at a nearby college, but my boyfriend attends here and his brother too. What’s your name?”
The student continues to stare at her, before her eyes widens at the memory of knowing someone named “Jun Hyosung” back in high school. She closes her notebook and asks, “Unnie?”
Whoa, totally was not expecting that, Hyosung stiffens up at the spot. She racks her brain to remember who this lady is that calls her ‘unnie’. “Y-yes?”
Jieun gasps excitedly, standing up. “It’s me! Jieun! Song Jieun!” Hyosung gasps and points at her, remembering Jieun. “UNNIE, WE WERE LIKE, BEST FRIENDS BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL. Madonna High School! Remember? Oh my god, unnie, I haven’t heard from you in a long time!” Both girls are squealing and hopping on the spot, and Jieun tackles Hyosung with a hug.
“Omo, omo, FOR REAL?! I KNEW IT. Aigoo, how’s maknae Jieunnie been??” Hyosung pulls away from Jieun to look at her face, and she tucks Jieun’s hair behind Jieun’s ear. “Omo, look at you! You’re so pretty, Unnie is jealous…but even more happy to see you again!” Hyosung returns the hug.
“Unnie, why have you not been in touch with us these past seven years since you left high school? Hana-unnie, Sunhwa and I have been worried about you, and thought you had forgotten about us already.” Jieun brings Hyosung to sit down on the bench.
“No, it’s not that. I’m sorry for making you guys worry but since a month after I graduated, my life has been one crazy ride. My family and I had to move to the States for two years because of my dad’s work,” Hyosung says sadly. “I was not able to keep in touch with you guys because it was pretty complicated to call overseas. I was stupid to not realize then that I didn’t have your emails. I tried to find your contact information in my contact log, but I had lost my log before we left here. When we came back, I was able to see my family friends but they could not find my contact log. A few months later, my dad got laid off because the company was going bad. However, he found a construction job and we were able to live well with our money. I went off to college and studied dancing, then my father passed away…from cancer…” Hyosung trails off, staring into space as she recalls the memory. Jieun gasps softly, her hand clasping her friend’s hand consolingly.
“He had been fighting it for two years…I knew he had cancer in my 2nd year of college. He didn't want me to quit college, said he would fight to see me walk the stage, so I kept studying. It was a long battle, but he passed away a few weeks before I graduated. He didn’t get to see me walk the stage and get my diploma…” Tears start running down Hyosung’s cheeks, and Jieun lifts her free hand to wipe them off. Startled, Hyosung brings her free hand to wipe off her tears as well, chuckling weakly. “After that, my mom, sister and I worked hard to keep ourselves financially intact. My father had not much of a fortune to leave us with, so we were left with hard work. My sister helped my mom at the flower shop and I sought a part time job while attending college. After all the hard work, I finished my grad degree and here I am! I actually just came back from a job interview at my former college, as a teacher assistant in Modern Dance; so hopefully I get the job. But unnie didn’t forget about you guys, I’m extremely sorry for not being able to keep in touch with you all.” She wipes off any tears left, still smiling.
“Ah, unnie, it’s okay. You’ve had quite a roller coaster of life. I’m so sorry to hear about your dad.” Jieun hugs Hyosung, forgiving her. “Hana-unnie, Sunhwa and I still keep in touch regularly. We have our own busy lives but we still make some time aside for us to meet up and catch up with what’s been going on. I’ll tell them later today when I stop by!”
“Oh please do! I’d be thrilled to see them again!” Hyosung exclaims, and she lifts her hand once again to rake her fingers through Jieun’s brown hair. “Aigoo, you still look so pretty with this hair…I hadn’t recognized you earlier, two days ago during lunch…I was thinking to myself, Why does this young lady look so familiar? I cannot recall her name. And here we are!” Hyosung giggles, and Jieun joins in.
“I was like that too, unnie! I saw you with Moon Himchan that day and I had the same thought in my head!”
Hyosung stops mid-action. “What, Moon Himchan? You know who he is?”
Jieun stops too. “Himchan? Yeah, he’s quite the popular guy around here by reputation. People talk about him in the music department. It’s hard not to ignore. Why, how do you know him?”
“He’s my…boyfriend. Well, family friend first, and then boyfriend,” Hyosung replies.
“O-oh…” Jieun looks away, remembering that her boyfriend, Yongguk, wants to woo Himchan. She feels a bit troubled. “I see. Unnie, I have to go, I’m sorry. It’s been really wonderful to see you again! Here’s my number and my email. Call or text me, and I would love to set up a lunch group date with the four of us again!” Jieun takes out a piece of paper from her notebook and writes her phone number and email on it. She hands it to Hyosung, who looks a little shocked, but happily takes the paper.
“Bye, unnie! I’ll see you around!” Jieun waves as she leaves Hyosung at the bench, and Hyosung is left thinking, what the heck was that?
- - -
After their science lecture class has ended around 10:50, Jongup, Jongin and Sehun are walking around on campus, going over some dance routines. Jongin asks Jongup what his dance routine song will be, since Jongup has heard them rehearse to Justin Bieber’s Boyfriend. Jongup replies with the song, Chris Brown’s Wall to Wall.
Just moments after Jongup replies, he catches sight of the dirty blond-haired guy and the black-haired guy from last Tuesday, with their hands moving at the speed of light. The duo seems to be making their way towards the trio and sure enough, the dirty blond haired guy turns his head to look straight at Jongup. Jongup cannot suppress a shudder. He stammers, looking away to face Jongin and Sehun, “U-um..Jongin-goon, Sehun-goon, I’m sorry. I-I have to go. See you later.” Jongup suddenly bolts without Jongin and Sehun stopping him, his heart hammering in his chest.
- - -
Jongup happens to run past Himchan on his way to the Food Court. Himchan beckons Jongup to stand close to him before he gives Hyosung a call. He lets her know that they got out of class early and will be at the Food Court for the next few hours or so, before they have classes at 1PM. Hyosung informs him that she is already here and will be on her way to meet them. Himchan closes his phone and puts it in his pocket.
“Jonguppie-yah, why were you running? Were you that excited for food?” Himchan teases, slipping an arm over Jongup’s shoulders.
“N-no, it wasn’t that. I…saw…him today. I’m just nervous to meet him, hyung.”
“Oh, that guy from Tuesday? Hmm…Funny you should mention that, I had myself in a awkward situation with Yongguk this morning in class.”
“Why, what happened?”
“Oh, hyung was a little out of it today, didn’t pay attention in class because Yongguk, it seems, has a reading interest in Shakespeare, and then I find out that I’m working on a project with him due in three months’ time and I realize that I have a funny feeling whenever his name runs through my mind…and oh yeah, I didn’t realize I had left my notebook in class until 15 minutes after class ended and when I came back, it’s not there and you know what’s even worse?”
Lifting his arm from Jongup as he steps away from his brother, Himchan pauses his rambling with a dramatic mock-glare at Jongup, “I even wrote Yongguk’s name a few times in my notebook, and I wasn't aware of what I was doing. Even more worse, Yongguk must have been the only one left in the classroom when my notebook was around.” He crosses his arms in frustration.
Jongup looks at his brother pitifully, “H-hyung, it’ll be okay. He probably won’t know that you wrote his name. It would be stupid to pry around other people’s things without their permission.” He grips his brother’s hands. “Calm down, hyung. It’ll be all right. Maybe there’s a chance he doesn’t know.”
Himchan stares at his brother. “So you’re saying there’s a chance he might know about it. Jonguppie-yah, if you haven’t noticed, we’re all adults here. Most of us aren’t goody-two-shoes and I’m pretty sure Yongguk will be curious to read my notebook again, and he will know about my stupid doodles.” He moans, and he feels Jongup wrapping his arms around him, giving him a hug, assuring him it will be okay.
Few moments pass as the Moon brothers stand there in the embrace, and Jongup reminds Himchan, “Erm…hyung, should we head to the Food Court? Hyosung-noona might be there already.”
“Oh yeah! Right. Hyosung.” Himchan shakes himself out of a daze, remembering who Hyosung is, his girlfriend. Oh my god, what am I even thinking? WHY am I even thinking this way now!? Ugh, this isn’t happening. That Bang Yongguk. Everything’s starting to change because of him; I can just feel it.
The Moon brothers then make their way to meet Hyosung, and when they see her, Himchan gives her a quick peck on the lips. Jongup and Hyosung are surprised at the mere, yet bold, gesture of affection, because Himchan says so himself he never wants to kiss in public.
Hyosung looks at him a little funny, noticing how jumpy Himchan looks. “Honey, are you having a weird start today?” Jongup answers for his brother and explains what he has heard from Himchan’s rambling.
“Hyung left his notebook in class and part of the reason was that he was being inattentive in class due to talking with Yongguk-sshi about Shakespeare. He said it’s been a weird start, and what’s even worse, he says, is that he thinks there’s something about Yongguk that he likes. He even wrote his n - mmerfpphh.” When Jongup is about to explain that Himchan wrote Yongguk’s name on his notebook, Himchan flails and rushes to Jongup to cover his mouth before Jongup can spill any further.
Hyosung looks startled at Himchan’s quirky behavior and Jongup looks up at his brother. Himchan nervously laughs and says, ”Yeah, I’m just antsy about the project because I don’t have my notebook or Yongguk’s contact info since we’re partners for the project, that’s all.”
Hyosung raises her eyebrow dubiously. “Uh-huh, yeah I’m not buying it, Himchannie. What’s up with you and this Yongguk? Sweetie, come on. You can trust me. I was your best friend even before I was your girlfriend, you know.” Hyosung grabs ahold of Himchan’s free hand and rubs her thumb on his knuckles, hoping that will calm him down.
Himchan bites his lip as he sneaks a downward glance at Jongup and gives in, “I’ll tell you in a little bit. Do you wanna eat here or outside of campus?”
“Outside of campus, I found a great tea place nearby. You guys will like it; they have salt and pepper chicken bites there.”
~ At the Tea Station café… ~
“Oh…”
“Yeah…this is such a stupid dilemma,” Himchan closes his eyes, shaking his head slowly. Hyosung can only glance between Jongup and Himchan, blinking as she absorbs the new information.
“W-well…is it just Yongguk…or guys in general that you like?” Hyosung asks weakly.
“Just Yongguk, def-…It’s just Yongguk. You know me, I’ve been straight my whole life, and now I’m feeling a mixture of being crazy, comfortable, grouchy and maybe even awkward - how do these opposing emotions even work out? - with Yongguk. His blunt flirtings, cocky atti - well, more like a bit of a sadistic attitude, - and the fact that he knows Shakespeare. He. Knows. Shakespeare’s. Works. And. Actually. Enjoys. Some. Of. Them.” Himchan jabs his finger on the table with every word he says, and Jongup is watching each and every bounce of his brother’s finger.
“Do you know… how many people there are like that here that appreciate his works, I mean REALLY appreciate his works?! Hyosung, you gotta help me. What am I supposed to do here? Tell him to leave me alone? But I can’t. My heart tells me something otherwise that Yongguk’s more than just a cocky classmate, but I don’t really want to acknowledge that. And I even have you, too, Hyosung. Ugh…he just had to make things complicated for me. Help me, Hyosung.” Himchan grips the table, knuckles turning white. Jongup watches his brother warily, no longer eating his chicken bites.
Hyosung shakes her head grimly. “I can’t. It’s something you have to figure on your own. I’m not saying that we’re over, just…you need to figure this out on your own. I cannot know what you’re feeling all the time, but I’ll be with you anyway. You can be straight, gay, or bisexual. Obviously you just said it is just Yongguk so it could place you as bisexual or maybe just gay for him only. And I just don’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all. I know I’m your girlfriend, Himchan, and I was even your best friend before we got into a relationship. If it happens that we have to end this, you’ll feel like the one suffering from this, because you will think that it was a relationship wasted. Let me assure you, it is not. Regardless of our relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, the relationship of best friends is still there, and that’s much more important.” She takes a sip of her tea. “If you have feelings for Yongguk and you still have feelings for me, that’s fine only if you are happy being with both Yongguk and I. If you have feelings for him alone and you no longer have feelings for me, that’s still fine, again only if you’re happy with him, and as long as we can still be friends afterwards.”
Himchan stares at a small spot on the table, Hyosung’s words sinking into his brain. “Okay…You promise you’ll be with me though, as my girlfriend and-slash-or as my best friend?” Hyosung nods, smiling a bit.
“Himchan-ah, you know you’re quite popular among the people in the Music Department? I ran into an old friend from high school who told me she knows your name because you are one of the hot topics in the Music Building.”
“Oh, yeah, I’m aware of that…”
Part 2