martyrs & maniacs. | tbz jujae

29. | epilogue

"Why is this restaurant so goddamn cold?" Hyunjae pulls one of his clubmates' cardigan in a desperate attempt to give himself more warmth. His seatmate just gives him a stern look before pulling back his club uniform.

Hyunjae just huffs at him. He opted for hugging himself even tighter. Whoever decided to blast the place's air conditioner in its highest temperature knowing full well that it is already raining outside needs to get fired. It's freezing, for fucks' sake! How his clubmates and the other people inside the restaurant can still stand the cold is a big mystery to him.

Hyunjae groans. "For the love of god, Sooyoung, eat faster! I'm about to die here."

His clubmate just stares at him blankly. "You know you can just go ahead and leave, right? Dramatic bitch."

But Hyunjae can't do that. Jacob always treats them to dinner every time they successfully finish another play. The older has the heart of an angel, and everyone doesn't want to become the devil and break Jacob's heart that's why they always agree. It's like a family dinner and Jacob is the grandfather-slash-dinner-organizer that everyone loves; leaving first will hurt Jacob's feelings and Hyunjae doesn't want that.

So he just makes the most of what he has, which is their not-so-stylish thin black-and-gold club cardigan, as he waits for Sooyoung to finish eating so that they can finally leave.

An arm blocks his line of vision a minute later, and Hyunjae raises a brow when another one of his clubmates said something.

"That guy is still not leaving."

Hyunjae looks at where Luda is pointing and furrows his eyebrows when he saw nothing but a familiar boy around his age texting on his phone.

He lightly pushes Luda's arm away. "You can't just point your finger at other people like that! Of course, he's still not leaving. He hasn't eaten yet."

Luda shakes her head. "I was the earliest one who arrived here and he was already there when I came in."

Oh. Hyunjae throws a quick glance at the guy's direction. Is he waiting for someone, then? A friend? A date? Or one of the restaurant staffs?

He shrugs. Why is he even snooping around other people's business, anyway? Hyunjae returns to annoying Sooyoung to eat faster and hoping that she chokes.

♡

Exactly seven minutes after Hyunjae removed his eyes from the guy, he finally realizes why the man was familiar.

If he remembers correctly, his name is Lee Juyeon. The vice president of the student council. The one that he once caught his sister stalking on Instagram. The one who he met during the club presidents' meeting a month ago.

Hyunjae thought Juyeon was cute when he first saw him back in the discussion room. Though, he didn't think much of it nor asked for his number considering he overheard the debate club's leader gossiping with the leader of the culinary club that the VP is already taken.

Maybe it's the reason why Juyeon is still sitting there? He's probably waiting for his girlfriend— or boyfriend, Hyunjae doesn't know. Thirty minutes had already passed since Hyunjae noticed Juyeon, and the others are already preparing to leave but it seems like the man is still adamant on waiting for whoever he's waiting for.

He feels bad for him. Hyunjae doesn't think he can survive waiting for someone for hours, but to each their own. His social butterfly self wants to come over there to provide Juyeon some company for the meantime, but having someone that you only saw once come up to you and act like your close friend is too weird, isn't it?

♡

"Come on, I thought you wanted to leave immediately?"

Sooyoung keeps snapping her fingers in front of him, and Luda is at his side pulling his arm to stand up, but Hyunjae can't really bring himself to leave.

Juyeon looks devastated, his shoulders down as he continues to type and text. Hyunjae feels like he will betray Juyeon if he leaves the restaurant, even though the latter doesn't even know that he exists. He just wants to stay here and watch Juyeon until the person he is waiting for finally arrives.

Now, Hyunjae isn't some stalker nor weird creep. He just really wants to see his schoolmate brighten up and remove the frown on his face. But looking at the time and the fact that only a handful of people are left, it seems like Juyeon has to go home in a dispirited state.

He sighs. Should he just...?

He probably should.

Hyunjae waves his friends off. "My sister offered to pick me up here. You guys go ahead."

"Are you sure?" Jacob asks, voice laced with concern.

"Yes, I am. Have a safe trip home!"

The moment the last of his clubmates entered a cab, Hyunjae immediately gathers his things. He spots Juyeon doing the same, a sullen look on his face, and he immediately heads straight for the other man's table.

This is probably a stupid choice, but Hyunjae thinks that life is all about making stupid choices.

"Sorry I took so long, babe. The project took longer than I expected."

Hyunjae hurriedly places his bag on one of the vacant chairs. Juyeon looks up from his phone and smiles, wide and excited, as if he hasn't seen the older for days. The enthusiasm is so obvious that Hyunjae can feel himself turn physically weak.

God, Hyunjae is really in love with this man.

His boyfriend laughs. "It's alright, hyung. I just got here as well."

"Have you ordered already? It's my treat, don't worry."

"I told you: I just got here too." Juyeon says. He lets his large hand travel on the glass table to meet Hyunjae's, lacing their fingers together. "I miss you."

Hyunjae can feel his heart start to set in motion. He bites his bottom lip to stop himself from letting out a squeal.

"I miss you too." He answers. "I still can't believe it's been four months since we got together."

Juyeon hums. "Thank you for waiting for me."

"How many times do you have to say that? I told you: I will wait for you. Even if I had to wait another week or month or year, I will wait for you." Hyunjae chuckles. He puts his other hand to accompany the one holding Juyeon's hand. His boyfriend's hand is larger than his, and it never fails to make Hyunjae feel small. He loves the way Juyeon's hand engulf his whenever they hold hands. He loves the warmth that it radiates. He grips his hand tighter.

"Because I love you."

Past Hyunjae thought that pretending to be a stranger's boyfriend is a stupid decision and honestly? The idea itself still sounds stupid for him even until now.

Does he regret making that stupid choice, though? No, and he never will.