The Hideout I Need

Chapter 27: There it is again, that funny feeling

The following week after the trip to Itaewon, Hyeong-jun was living on cloud nine. Tae-young had to admit that he had never seen him so outgoing. Hyeong-jun would never admit this, but the experience he had at the club definitely gave him some newfound confidence. It was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt as though he could be free.

"You seem chipper," Jung-mo smirked at Hyeong-jun the following Monday at some random time, probably during lunch. And he was right. He was chipper. Hyeong-jun would just laugh it off. But whatever happiness he was feeling, Tae-young felt discomfort. He was getting quite good at masking up his sadness initially, but as August bled into September, Tae-young's thoughts started running wilder than ever and his feelings became harder to cover up.

In an attempt to make things feel normal again, Tae-young decided to come by Hyeong-jun's convenience store after an academy class one day. It was what they had always done, surely it would make things feel normal. But things went farther from normal as a familiar stranger entered into Hyeong-jun's life again.

Tae-young was sitting at one of the tables at the convenience store doing homework, as Hyeong-jun stood behind the counter counting change and whatnot. He looked over at Tae-young with a calm smile on his face.

"You really don't have to stay here, there's still more than an hour 'til we close," Hyeong-jun chuckled awkwardly, fearing he felt forced to stay.

Tae-young looked up from his papers and up at Hyeong-jun. He wanted to smile back, but it felt harder these days. "But I want to," Tae-young spoke softer than he had done previously.

Hyeong-jun noticed his change in tone and could definitely sense that something was bothering him. But he couldn't tell what. Honestly, he had noticed Tae-young being a little unlike himself lately, but whenever he'd ask, Tae-young wouldn't want to answer. He assumed it was a problem with his parents, but it just didn't seem like it. But he didn't want to pressure Tae-young into answering, he would just feel suffocated, he thought. So he let out a thankful smile, "Thanks for keeping me company then."

And then with the timing from a movie, the bell from the door rang and a tall and handsome guy walked into the store.

"Welcome—!" Hyeong-jun spoke as a reflex, but his eyes widened massively as he noticed who walked in. It was a tall guy, wearing a Hankuk University hoodie, somehow managing to look handsome even though he was wearing comfy clothes and didn't seem to put any effort into his appearance today.

"Oh!" the guy pointed at Hyeong-jun as he also noticed him, "You..."

Hyeong-jun dug his face into his hands, feeling embarrassed, hoping his face wasn't turning as red as a tomato. Because it was someone he had met before. It was the guy from the club.

Sun-woo chuckled, "It is you, isn't it?"

Hyeong-jun slowly lifted his head, chuckling shyly, "You remember me?"

"Of course I do, I hadn't drunk that much yet when we met," Sun-woo laughed. "You were straight up blasted, I'm surprised you remember me."

Hyeong-jun laughed flusteredly, "How could I forget you?"

Sun-woo just flashed a kind smile at Hyeong-jun, looking at him adoringly. However, he caught himself staring and chuckled shyly, "I'll go get what I needed to buy." And as he walked through some of the aisles, Hyeong-jun couldn't help but try to look after him.

Tae-young looked confused, interrupting Hyeong-jun's thoughts, "Who was that?"

Hyeong-jun looked a little surprised at him, regretfully forgetting he was there for a moment. He then flashed a shy smile, whispering, "Oh, uh... he was, you know... the guy from the club that I... kissed."