since seventeen // dodam

chapter 2 - rooftop

it's true.
since seventeen yeah, i was keeping my eyes on you.
just that i couldn't say it. 

it was a month after the two had recovered from the virus and came to school. doyoung came to school an hour early as he was the class president and had to arrange some paperwork as instructed by their hoomroom teacher. he had came way earlier than he needed because he still had 40 minutes to spare when he finished with his work. the red-haired decided to close his eyes and rest on the desk but shortly after, he felt a cold bottle on his cheek. 

when he opened his eyes, he saw the ace student standing in front of him with a packet of soy milk. "rooftop?" yedam smiled. 

the younger nodded his head and followed behind yedam as they walked to the rooftop. it was surprising how close they have gotten so fast within the span of a bit more than a month when they did not care about one another's presence for the past 5 years. it was close enough that they shared with each other their problems and told each other stuff they did not even tell their closest friends. because they knew that the other were good secret keepers. 

"something's troubling you," yedam observed. 

the younger simply chuckled, "woah. it's not even a question anymore. why are you so sure?" yedam was always good at reading faces. doyoung too, but yedam's face was one he had trouble understanding. 

"what happened?"

doyoung shook his head, "it's just we had a few dancers withdrawing from the competition recently when everything was settled already. and now we have to make alot of amendments to the choreography. then the competition is three weeks away and alot of us are busy with the tests next week. it's difficult to call everyone back." 

frankly, the younger would have expected yedam to reply with comforting or encouraging words like "it will be okay," or "you can do it". however, the older looked towards his direction and said, "actually, aren't you the leader?"

"mhmm..." doyoung raised his eyebrow and anticipated what came next.

"then, can't you propose to add new members in just for this competition?"

the younger furrowed his eyebrows, "and who do i propose to add in?" the older pointed at himself which shocked the doyoung. 

"you can dance?" the red-haired asked with his eyes wide open.

"definitely not as good as the dancers that just left but i have some pretty decent moves," yedam demonstrated while moving in a funny manner, "and it would definitely not add extra burden to your team, lest more of them withdraw because of more additional sessions."

doyoung nodded his head and agreed with the older but the shock of yedam proposing that idea had not left his mind, "i'll bring this up to the team and gather their opinions on this." at the back of doyoung's mind, he questioned if the older had feelings for him. who in the right mind would volunteer themselves to do something they have never done before?

"if i get in, though. i would need alot of your help," yedam smiled. the younger nodded his head and wondered even more if yedam was just this nice to all his friends or was going the extra mile for him. no matter what, he was really a great problem-solver, doyoung concluded. 

from the rooftop, yedam saw more people were entering the building, and that included their friends. "should we head back down?" the younger had an urge to shake his head, wanting to spend more time with yedam, ask him how he was doing lately but withheld himself and decided that he could always ask another day. while they walked back to class, doyoung quickly gave a text message to the other members in the dance club and shared with them the earlier proposal yedam suggested.  

when he reached the class, hyunsuk quickly pulled him into the corner where his clique was. the younger eyed jihoon and asahi asking what was happening that they were so secretive. the other two only shrugged their shoulder and jihoon asked, "now doyoung is here, quickly tell us what you wanted to say."

"good news is that. byounggon and i got together!!" hyunsuk whispered screamed and smiled from ear to ear. the two males had been flirting for a while and everyone predicted it was a matter of time that they became official. the taller was down bad for hyunsuk and had been courting him for a while and he finally manned up and asked the short out over the weekend. 

the other three quickly congratulated him and asked him how the senior had asked him out. turns out, byounggon was very unsure of himself and was afraid hyunsuk would reject him. over the weekend, the taller brought hyunsuk out for the korea football association cup and luckily the team they supported won, then asked the younger out when he was elated. seems like a move that would easily win hyunsuk's heart already. 

after finishing his story, hyunsuk needed to use the washroom so doyoung followed along with him. while walking there, the shorter put his arm around doyoung's shoulder and whispered, "so, what's going on between you and yedam?"

the younger's eyes immediately widened, "you can tell?"

"only an idiot can't," hyunsuk said, deadpanned. 

"i like him but -" before doyoung could complete his sentence, hyunsuk jumped up and shrieked, "see, see, see, i knew it."

the younger face palmed himself, so much for keeping this a secret. "but i don't know about him and he's abit confusing to be honest. he did tell me there was someone he liked but honestly, i don't know, i don't think it's me. which sane person would tell the person they liked they liked someone?"

"i think you're overthinking too much. i mean, i think he likes you too though. which guy would let someone cut his hair at a random moment? doyoung you're the weirdest," they thought back on the week before when doyoung was playing with yedam's hair and finding a nice hair style for him when he found a few strands that were longer than the rest and asked the owner for permission to cut it. ",and he is always around you as well these days."

doyoung did not know whether to share this as well because it was not confirmed yet, "just now, i was telling him about the people that kept withdrawing from the competition. and he volunteered himself too..."

hyunsuk eyes widen like a goldfish, "what?? that's so many signs for you to see already. then what are you afraid of? just chase him."

doyoung shook his head, "i don't know, this feeling is very foreign, what if it is just a simple crush? it hasn't even been a week since i realised my feelings, i want to see how it develops further first. besides, i am afraid jihoon might be interested in him too. he did say that yedam was cute before..."

knowing his friend's love interest, hyunsuk shook his head, "i'm pretty sure jihoon isn't interested in yedam, you can ask him if you're curious. do you see a future with yedam though? you did mention you would only date if you can see a future with him."

reaching the toilet, doyoung sighed, "that's the problem. i can clearly see and write out a future with him, and that's what i'm scared of. what if he doesn't? he had many relationships in the past, and hearing them, it feels like he didnt harbour the same amount of feelings as them and i'm scared that if i ever confess, we might only get together because he can't say no. i don't want to force him into this kind of situation."

"then ask him and work it out with him. you can't just be fretting over this alone when you do not know about his feelings yet."

the younger nodded his head and had 2 things on his checklist. 1. ask jihoon about his feelings for yedam. 2. clarify his own feelings for yedam.