Faded Sun| SunSun

[Bonus- Chapter 4]

"Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech!"

"Alright, alright-" Sunghoon stood up from the table, waving his hands to silence his friends. "So, I won a silver medal tod-"

The group erupted in cheer, interrupting the speech they'd been begging for. Sunghoon bit his lip, and glanced away, slightly embarrassed of the scene his friends were causing. The small Italian bar they were in definitely wasn't prepared for this rowdy bunch.

"Okay- alright- let me actually speak." Sunghoon spoke amused, laughing off his friends cheers. He grabbed his glass off the table, holding it to his chest. "I hoped, but never expected, that I would get this far. At one point skating was all I had. It was the only thing keeping me from total self destruction. It gave me goals, and taught me discipline. I feel incredibly grateful for everything it gave me...but what really means the world to me, is all of you guys-"

"Boooooo, no sappy shit!" Jay shouted, instantly receiving an elbow in his side from Jungwon.

"I won't get too sappy, don't worry. I just wanted to say that the fact all of you came to see me skate, is something I'll never forget. You'll never know how much you changed my life, and gave me purpose outside of skating. So, thank you guys, this win is for you." Sunghoon raised his glass, with the group following suit. They clinked their glasses together and cheered. 

Sunghoon sat down again, immediately gulping down the liquid in his glass.

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" Sunoo giggled. "Your speech was good."

Sunghoon let out a deep breath. "I got heckled, I'm never giving a speech again." 

Now the speech was over, Jay took notice of what was occurring on the other side of the table. Riki hadn't paid any attention to the speech, too busy texting someone on his phone. Standing up, they reached across the table, snatching Riki's phone. "Texting your boyfriend?"

Riki scowled. "No actually, I'm talking to Yeosang. He's giving me feedback on one of my assignments." He caught the phone as Jay threw it back. 

"Oh that mentor guy? You still speak to him?" Jungwon questioned, audibly surprised.

"Yeah, he still checks up on me, even now I'm at uni." Riki replied, typing one last thing, before slipping his phone into his pocket.

"You know I still can't believe you're studying finance." Mi-Sun commented, poking Riki playfully. "My little bro is so smart now."

"I didn't think he could count past ten at one point." Jungwon snickered, garnering an eye roll from the boy.

He shrugged. "What can I say? I was influenced by a math teacher."

The conversation died down, with everyone breaking off into their own separate discussions. Though Jay's eyes stayed lingering on the boy in front of them. They thought back to their bet with Heeseung, which was originally a joke. Yet, that one moment in the stadium flooded their mind. They knew that look, you don't look at a friend like that.

Jake and Riki were sitting side by side, but kept distance. Not a natural distance, no, one that seemed forced. As if they had something to hide. Jake even seemed a little disheartened, every time he moved closer to Riki, the boy would move away. The pieces started clicking in place. Jake wasn't the one with something to hide.

"Yo Jake, there's this guy on my basketball team who I think you'd really like." 

A rosy pink blush raced across Jake's cheeks. "Like? In what way?"

"Don't play dumb. Your single, he's single. You get what I'm implying." Jay smirked, side eyeing Riki. They didn't seem to notice Jake picking up on their scheme.