more than a crush - Lee Juyeon

1

Fate has a wicked sense of humor.

The reason Juyeon knows this to be true? Because right now, as he's staring at the list of names on the board, it was clear that the turn of events was fate's attempt at some sort of sardonic joke. He kept rereading his name and the one next to it as if it would magically change into one that didn't make his stomach twist into a coil of nerves. The name in question belonged to the resident delinquent-a.k.a possibly the only person Juyeon couldn't manage to win over with his charming and friendly disposition.

After staring at the board for an entire minute, he looked over to his newly-assigned partner's empty seat. It wasn't an unusual sight since you hardly ever showed up to class. That would've been perfectly fine if your attendance (or lack thereof) wasn't now directly connected to Juyeon's grade.

"How did she get paired with Juyeon?" He heard a girl behind him whisper.

"Poor him. He'll have to do the project on his own."

Juyeon blinked back into reality when he heard those pitying words. With a quiet groan, he let his head gently fall on his desk. What was he going to do? He needed a passing grade in order to be eligible for the rest of the season, and he was only one letter grade away from failing. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if he'd been paired with anyone else in the class. Even his peers could tell that finishing the project would be a near-impossible feat. He was so screwed.

"It's not the end of the world." The voice beside him said. "I'm sure any one of your fangirls will be more than willing to help you with your project."

Hyunjae was one of Juyeon's closest friends, but he had a knack for using a person's misfortune to tease them relentlessly. And with the situation at hand, his friend had enough material to clown him for days. It's part of the reason why Juyeon wasn't surprised to see Hyunjae directing a shit-eating grin at him once he lifted his head. Yeah, he was definitely screwed.

When lunchtime came around, Hyunjae waited until the entire group was at the table to spill all the details about Juyeon's latest predicament. Haknyeon and Kevin were listening raptly while Eric and Sunwoo thought what happened to their friend was the most hilarious thing in the world. The two boys flung their bodies at each other, their loud laughter garnering the attention of the neighboring tables. Juyeon could only glare at their childish antics.

Once Dumb and Dumber's loud cackling settled down, Haknyeon focused his stare on Juyeon. He'd waited a long time for this moment. So long, in fact, that he couldn't hold back the complacent smirk that lifted his lips. "Is the problem that you think she's not going to help you or that you have a thing for her?"

Hyunjae choked on his drink at the same time Kevin's mouth dropped open. Eric stopped mid-bite to stare at Juyeon with wide eyes while Sunwoo could only blink at him. The entire table went silent for a good two seconds before chaos erupted and landed on a blushing Juyeon.

"You're in love with Y/N?" Hyunjae screeched as he sloppily wiped the dripping soda from his chin. The fact that he most likely looked like a messy toddler wasn't relevant in that moment because he was eager to hear all about Juyeon's feelings for you.

Sunwoo couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice. "I didn't think you were into those types of girls."

"Leave him alone. You can't control who you like. I think you guys would actually make a cute couple." Kevin mused as he handed Hyunjae some napkins.

"Is it because she has a motorcycle?" Eric wondered through a mouthful of food. "She does look pretty cool when she rides it."

By this point, the top of Juyeon's cheekbones were dusted with a bold red color. He wasn't sure who to address first, and being as flustered as he was didn't help at all. Finally, Juyeon decided to start with Hyunjae since his question had been more absurd than the rest. "No!" He hissed, feeling the heat from his face spread to the tips of his ears. "I'm not in love with her! I don't-"

"But you always stare at her." Haknyeon pointed out with raised eyebrows that dared the accused boy to deny his observation.

Juyeon found himself unable to refute Haknyeon's candid statement because his friend technically wasn't lying. He just didn't think he had been so obvious when he looked at you. It was out of curiosity more than anything. Sometimes, when he stared at you long enough, you didn't seem like the notorious troublemaker everyone was wary of. The image you portrayed would fall away and left behind a real person who was more than just a perception.

Admittedly, staring at you was never boring. In his long observations of you, he found that your actions didn't always reflect the persona of a delinquent. He came to learn that you were somewhat considerate and mindful of other people-at least more than anyone gave you credit for. Juyeon also learned that your stoic expression was a mere mask used to hide whatever emotions you felt. Over time, he learned to pick up on your micro expressions-which also happened to be his latest source of entertainment.

But there was no way he was going to tell his friends any of that.

"Maybe it's just a crush," Kevin offered after seeing how flustered Juyeon became. "It'll probably fade over time."

He couldn't have been more wrong.