one trashy night

Part 7

This was going to be awkward.

"Rok Soo, it's not that bad, I'm sure that Han Hyung isn't mad either."

Somehow, Choi Jung Soo's words had sounded so much more reassuring when he was there talking to him.

In the lengthy conversation that the pair had, Choi Jung Soo had made two things abundantly clear.

One was that it was a fool's errand to attempt hiding it from him to begin with. Choi Jung Soo had noticed something weird between them from the very beginning. It made sense, all things considered, he was Choi Han's beloved nephew and Kim Rok Soo's best friend. It would have been weirder if he didn't notice them acting strange about one another.

The second, and more important thing, was while Choi Jung Soo didn't have any issues with their relationship, he did have a big issue with Kim Rok Soo playing with his poor uncles feelings. And the absolute mountain of mixed signals was just not it.

Choi Jung Soo hadn't even been planning a confrontation, it was way more amusing to watch them try and fail to hide their clear attraction towards one another, but after the incident in the training hall he knew that perhaps it wasn't all clear sailing and he didn't want either of them actually getting hurt.

"I don't care what happens between you two but make it clear. Han Hyung is a totally hopeless romantic, if you're not that interested, be clear with him."

It was fair. Much more fair than Kim Rok Soo deserved after his cowardly antics over the last few days.

He'd asked for a day to think things over and Choi Jung Soo had graciously arranged for a Choi Han free day.

It wasn't that Kim Rok Soo wasn't sure about his attraction towards Choi Han.

It was that he wasn't sure if he actually wanted to do anything about it.

Even putting aside all of the weight of his connection to the Choi family, Kim Rok Soo had run away on that first night without knowing anything at all.

It was scary.

He knew, on some level, that Choi Han was a person that he could really grow to care about.

There were a lot of reasons that Kim Rok Soo kept so few close acquaintances in his life. One of the primary reasons was the number of times that he'd lost the people he loved most.

It still pained him to even keep Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk close. The idea that one day that might be ripped from his side gave him chills.

Adding anyone to his already full roster of beloved people was scary.

The moment he noticed how much he could grow to like Choi Han was the moment he chose to run away.

He'd forgotten in his cowardly escape something very important, something that Choi Jung Soo had to remind him of sternly.

Choi Han was a person too. A person who hadn't done anything wrong to be jerked around like this. He'd gone at Kim Rok Soo's pace, forgiven his every indiscretion, and been nothing but kind in excess.

No matter how scared he was, he should make matters clear with Choi Han.

Exhaling shakily, he knocked gently on the door he'd already visited once before.

Choi Han opened the door quickly enough that it left Kim Rok Soo wondering if he knew that Kim Rok Soo was loitering outside like this.

"...we should talk." He said, maintaining an even gaze with Choi Han even as his every nerve wanted to run away.