martyrs & maniacs. | tbz jujae

O5.

"Hey."

Juyeon closes his phone in order to focus all of his attention on the boy in front of him. Hyunjae is grinning, brown curly hair curled even more to portray the innocent, youthful look of the role he is portraying. His navy blue highschool uniform (only a costume, since their university doesn't have official school uniforms) is slightly ruffled with the flowers he is desperately hugging. Now Juyeon knows what Eunseo meant when the girl told her that Hyunjae got the role of the "boy-next-door highschool sweetheart" in the short musical they will be showing today. The older one really looks like the type of boy that everyone is head over heels in love with in highschool.

He would be lying if he said that Hyunjae is anything but adorable, and he tells him so.

"Shut up. I don't have any coins to give you." Hyunjae chortles, but it's obvious that he took Juyeon's words as a compliment. He looks behind the younger, "Where's your boyfriend?"

"At Changmin's department. He's helping him finish a project."

"Again?" Younghoon appears. He gives Hyunjae a thumbs up after gazing at his costume from head to toe. "Jeez, how many projects do Changmin's professors give them every month? Isn't that illegal?"

Juyeon shrugs. "I guess it isn't. Kevin said that a lot of those projects are just simple essays or surveys that can be easily done within a day."

"So why is Chanhee still helping him?"

Juyeon looks at the taller, an exhausted look on his face mirroring Younghoon's smug one. Juyeon's not dumb. He knows where this conversation is going. "Hyung."

Younghoon raises his hands. "What? Changmin isn't some pre-schooler in need of help writing essays. If he has trouble with stuff like those then he wouldn't even be in college right now."

"You know how nice Chanhee is. And Changmin is his best friend."

"I don't know, Ju. Don't you think it's suspicious that Chanhee has been helping Changmin with his school work ever since, like, three months ago? They don't even take the same course!"

Of course it's suspicious. Juyeon had a lot of those thoughts before, had a lot of what if's lingering in his mind, causing him to even lose sleep once in a while. But of course, he pays them no attention. He has a lot of trust put on Chanhee. Juyeon knows that his boyfriend wouldn't dare to do such a thing to him.

And besides, they already have their fair share of fights ever since they started dating. Juyeon doesn't want another one especially since their situation is getting better. Well, kinda getting better.

Stupid? Pathetic? Submissive? Call him what you want, but Juyeon is adamant on his decisions.

There's a little bit of tension in the air, with Juyeon preparing himself to receive another "dump him before he dumps you" speech from Younghoon. Because he knows it is going to happen. Juyeon knows his friends well enough and he knows how much they like meddling with his relationships and flings. But Hyunjae, thank god, caught on to the tension and placed himself between the two boys.

The brown-haired boy sighs. "Really, guys? Eunseo is going to flip out if she learns that you're fighting without her and a few minutes before the show that she directed starts."

"Right. I'll be heading first to save us a seat, Ju." Younghoon concedes. "Break a leg, Jae! Don't forget to say 'Macbeth' before you go on stage."

"Sick and twisted, Younghoon. You are sick and twisted."

The oldest out of the three only laughs before waving them goodbye. Juyeon and Hyunjae watch his disappearing figure before resuming their conversation. Hyunjae looks at him, grinning. Juyeon finally notices the blush and fake freckles that the older is sporting. They suit him.

"You never told me what this show is all about."

"You know we're not allowed to give out spoilers." Hyunjae chuckles. "You read the show description in the poster and that's it."

"I heard Eunseo told Bona the whole story in advance though." Juyeon tries reasoning. Truth be told, he doesn't really care. He just doesn't want to go back to his seat yet.

"Yeah, because Bona is her girlfriend! You're not my boyfriend ye— I mean, actors can't spoil the whole thing to their friends. What's the point of going then?"

Juyeon clicks his tongue. "Watching you perform?"

"You know what?" Hyunjae brushes his hair to the back, despite it being styled. Juyeon watches the strands bounce back to their original places. "Here's a spoiler. At the end of act one, I'm going to do this solo ballad that I'm really proud of and I really worked hard on it. Listen to it, yeah?"

"Of course, I will."

"Promise me." The older pouts before putting his pinky finger in front of him. Juyeon can only chuckle. "This is very childish of you, hyung."

"Just do it. You watching me sing 'Priority' will mean everything to me."

The actor's words definitely caught Juyeon off guard.

"That's a bit dramatic."

Hyunjae only shakes his head. "I'm serious, Juyeon-ah. You don't know how happy you will make me feel."

Hyunjae is a stunning man, Juyeon knows that. With his chiseled nose and long eyelashes, there is no denying that the older is full of charms that one can easily fall into. The words that escaped from Hyunjae's mouth along with the bright, oh so sweet smile on his face leaves some sort of feathery feeling inside him. Juyeon puts his hand in front of him, and Hyunjae high fived it before intertwining their fingers together. Juyeon gets caught off guard again.

"Watch me later, alright?"