My Secret Lover

Chapter 22

Pov. Park Sunghoon*

Many overtired students walked like zombies through the packed corridors of the university, and I was only barely distinguishable from them.

I should have played hooky and spent the day relaxing in bed with Jake...

"Hyung!"
Sunoo came rushing out of the toilet, with Riki behind him. The older one had his sleeves rolled up and apparently still had wet hands. He put his damp flippers on my shoulders and bounced around excitedly. "Are you ready for class?" he laughed, stopping suddenly. "Hey. Is that a hickey? On the back of your neck?" He abruptly pulled my collar down. Startled, I ducked and turned around so that I was looking into Sunoo's face. One hand firmly on the back of my neck.

All of a sudden, I was wide awake.

"Did you seriously just wipe your soggy paws on my uniform?", I hysterically changed the subject and mentally looked back to this morning when Jake bit the back of my neck.

Thanks, Jake!

"Oha, why do you have Jake's uniform?" Riki now joined in and pointed his finger at the yellow name tag. My gaze wandered downwards and sure enough, the small plate had 'Jake Sim' written on it in big, bold letters. I hurriedly removed the needle that was holding the name tag and put it in my trouser pocket.

Did I really forget my uniform jacket at Jake's house, or did he give me his own on purpose?

"Isn't it customary in Korea to give your crush your name tag?" the Japanese man asked thoughtfully. "Yes, it is," his best friend smirked.
"You should have done it like in Japan: Couples give each other the button of their blazer as a souvenir. Inconspicuous and romantic, isn't it?" added Riki, slapping his hands together and holding his fist in front of his face as he gazed dreamily into the air. "Nah, Korean style is much more romantic!" countered Sunoo.

Bruh, that wasn't an innuendo. They were actually making fun of me!

"But now to the basics: Does that mean Jake and you...", Sunoo began euphorically, but was interrupted by my "Shh, shut up!". It's not what it looks like!"

"Have you actually been to Jake's house now? Did you guys work it out with each other? You know that the 'make out' thing was just a joke. 'Make it up' would have been perfectly fine!" laughed Sunoo.
"Did you have a backseat session?", Riki joked loudly and hit Sunoo's shoulder playfully. "No no! You must mean a Devil Tango!", Sunoo countered, whereupon they both doubled over with giggles. Alarmed, I looked around and then tried to calm them down. "No, we didn't have a backseat session, Devil Tango, or whatever you want to call it! We talked and we're friends again! Now please keep your voice down, damn it!", I drew their attention. "Since when do friends give each other hickeys? Friendship plus?" I nearly choked on my spit at that sentence. "YA! Stop with these theories, we're just friends!"
"Friends? You're not together, but you're not just friends, I'm sure of it," Sunoo mused.
"Sunoo, stop the talking. You've been watching too many K-dramas or reading some Fanfictions. But we're in real life here"
"Daebak! The Ice Prince can be really harsh though... Well, I'd call myself a good matchmaker despite everything, wouldn't you?"
"Well, I agree with you Hyung," Riki confirmed. Slightly annoyed, I massaged my temple.

Actually, I should really thank Sunoo. It was only because of him that Namra and I were on the same wavelength again. He was also the one who brought me and Jake together...

"Thank you for your help," I murmured half aloud, careful not to share too many details.

That came across selfish and also kind of mean, but sometimes there are things you want to keep to yourself for the time being. Everything was so new to me, and I didn't even know exactly what my heart wanted, let alone if the affection towards Jake was right. I guess I was trying to protect myself with this behavior if you understand what I mean.