On The Surface | RavnWoong

C H A P T E R ₀₃

Keonhee was eyeing Hwanwoong with a judging gaze. He was a lot taller than Hwanwoong, so when he stood in front of his friend who was sitting on the carpet, it felt like the smaller was looking up to the Eiffel tower. Keonhee let himself drop on his butt, pulled one of his legs closer, and pushed his black hair out of his face, the strong gaze not leaving Hwanwoong for once.

"Why are you looking at me like this?!"

Keonhee clicked his tongue. "Your date? I don't believe you."

Their eye contact was strong — Hwanwoong thought he could win for a moment, tried to intimidate the man in front of him by narrowing his eyes, but no one, absolutely no one wins an eye staring contest with Keonhee and he sighed. He didn't know if he was ready to let the words roll off his tongue, wasn't sure if he actually wanted to hear what he was about to say, but the sooner the better, right?

"Promise me you won't judge, please."

Keonhee's gaze softened as he laughed softly, "Why would I-"

"Please," Hwanwoong repeated and Keonhee realized that his friend was serious about this. He placed his hand on Hwanwoong's thigh and asked him what was wrong, and Hwanwoong sighed once again.

"I might've agreed to a very stupid deal, Keonhee, and it's not too late to back out, but I somehow don't want to and it makes me feel ashamed."

Concerned eyes were burning into Hwanwoong's skin and when the male finally started to explain and tell him everything, Keonhee's gaze changed from confusion to amusement and eventually to empathy. He understood Hwanwoong, understood why his friend agreed to this and why he felt ashamed. A warm smile decorated Keonhee's face before starting to talk.

"Hey, I can understand that this situation is overwhelming. This is not the usual type of deal for sure, but regardless of the situation you're only doing this to pay for your classes and debts, so you shouldn't feel bad" he reassured, "On the bright side, it's not bad to have a sugar daddy!"

"He is not my sugar daddy!" Hwanwoong whined outraged and Keonhee giggled, apologizing.

"He's good looking though, are you sure you don't want-"

"Keonhee! The thing Youngjo and me agreed on is solely on the paper, it's business. It's like a job, I get paid for it!"

The taller looked at Hwanwoong with a smug smile. "Youngjo... Nice name."

"I'm quitting," Hwanwoong sighed, was in the middle of getting up, and laughed when Keonhee pulled him down by his arm again, "Why don't you go and marry him in my place instead?!"

A few blinks and breaths and laughs later Keonhee decided that he had teased his friend enough and they returned to their conversation. Hwanwoong felt better now that it was out in the world (not quite yet) and the weight on his shoulders suddenly didn't feel as heavy anymore. Especially now that he knew Keonhee did not judge him.

...

The next week approached faster than Hwanwoong would've liked to and he was in the middle of packing his bag for Monday. He held his favorite pair of shorts which was made of dark green and silky material. Dongju, one of his classmates, told Hwanwoong multiple times that he has grown tired of the color green because the black-haired would wear it so often, and Hwanwoong smiled weakly when letting his thumb brush over the fabric.

Everyone had at least one item they could never let go of, and for Hwanwoong it simply was these pair of shorts. He connected it with a very precious memory, his casting to get accepted at the dance school to be exact, and he wore it to dance ever since.