the x talk! ↷ haobin

five.

hanbin.

i thanked the canteen lady and carried my tray. i followed gunwook, who's currently leading me and our other friends towards the empty table he reserved.

reserved: literally putting his laptop there to save the table, all free to snatch.

but luckily the students here are behaved enough to not steal. the campus is pretty much covered with cameras too so trying would be really ugly.

"you guys have plans for this weekend? it's a really boring week to be honest. just lectures and yadda yadda yadda." junhyeon starts as soon as we all sat down.

i had to set aside gunwook's laptop to place my tray down. i shrugged, i don't really have anything aside from those trainings taerae talked me into.

at first, the whole podcast thingy didn't really appeal to me. i don't really join orgs or clubs or anything of the likes, but it didn't sound so bad and besides, some of my friends are there also i figured it would be a fun experience.

what made me agree more was that i'm not doing it alone. i'm doing it with him. zhanghao. my academic rival and also my source of laughter and entertainment ever since the start of this semester.

i don't even know the main reason or the very start of our playful banters, it just happened that he can't handle losing and i'm annoying. works out well if you ask me, good combo too.

"uh, i have something to do yeah." i said. thankfully they didn't ask any more questions and resumed eating.

we were peaceful until ricky decided to open up how one of his prada shoes got scratched by his cat.

-

zhanghao.

taerae: i'll be there in a bit, i still have some lectures to catch up on but i swear i'll come. make sure hanbin's there, i learned that he's not really in good terms with mr. punctuality so that might be a problem.

taerae: and try not to break anything, thank you

i've been sitting in one of the broadcasting room's swirly chair, hopefully i get dizzy and pass out so i wouldn't have to face hanbin later.

i was a few minutes early, i had nothing to do anyways so i might as well just open the ac here in the room and do some thinking.

i don't get the whole getting to know each other and the chemistry thing. i already know him: he's hanbin, varsity player, smart, annoying, mean, has a weird obsession with avocados and that's it.

i was about to add more to the list when the door flung open, revealing hanbin bringing his guitar. i only sighed and fished out my phone, trying to keep myself busy until taerae arrives.

"hey sunshine, you're early. you didn't have any class?" he asks, sitting at the seat in front of me. i made sure to put my bag on the empty seat on my right and my jacket on the left, just in case- you know.

"yeah, no, i didn't have any. i haven't been here long." i said, opening my tiktok only to see 36 new tiktok videos sent by kuanjui. i'll just watch them later.

he placed his guitar beside him, leaning back on the chair and just looking at me. i can see him through my peripheral vision.

i looked up to furrow my eyebrows at him. "what?" i asked, trying not to shuffle. his gaze made me feel uncomfortable, it's like i did something wrong.

suddenly, a smile formed on his face for a slight minuscule moment before pressing his lips tight. "nothing, i just noticed you're not wearing your glasses today." he says.

i just shrugged. "taerae should be here any minute, he says he's running late." i dismissed him, just so he could stop talking.

thankfully he did stop talking. it was only for a few 10 minutes of silence and him tapping his fingers on the table when taerae arrived.

smiles were here and there as usual. he went inside with a small box of 4 glazed donuts and three cups of coffee, i assume.

"i'm finally here! hello, hello! how are you guys? sorry i kept you waiting, i was busy with something," he places the things down and heaped a small sigh.

beads of sweat trickled down his face as he tries to wipe them off with his handkerchief, stuffing it back inside his hoodie.

"so! hello to the both of you. i know you don't go around skipping while holding hands and telling each other which one's prettier, but you guys have to be together in order for this to work. awkwardness during the sessions will cause a huge disappointment and dissatisfaction to both the club and to the ones listening. i appreciate the both of you coming here, confirming that you two are going to do this show which will be held in the next few weeks or next month depending on how smooth we can get things through,"

just as i was silently processing everything and letting taerae yap, i couldn't help but notice the occasional glances he was throwing. and it was throwing me off. it's like i got a zit or something.

"you guys are to have lunches together and spend time after class schedules. i don't care if it's studying or staring at a wall with neon floral prints but you have to do it together. in that method, it will force the both of you to form some sort of a urge to talk to each other since the boredom you two will be feeling will slowly bite your toenails. now, any questions?"

we were silent. the both of us were confused. even the donut that looked so delicious earlier didn't look too pleased. one of the donuts just told me.

"that's not trying to get a chemistry or whatever out of us, that's coercion! and it will never work. 5 minutes in your presidential 'you-must-do-this' talk and i was already thinking of 10 ways on how to slaughter a green guitar. 13 if i'm counting the ones which can also apply to you, the yapping man."

he sighs. "you see, we really really need this to save the club. you know how much it means to everyone, how much it means to you. you've been in the team for a very long time and you've seen our struggles. this is just a little sacrifice for us, come on."

now it was my turn to sigh. i glanced over to hanbin, who looked like he was both confused and well, confused. both fused now it's a different level of confused. confused^2.

i can also hint a bit of amusement the moment i talked, but maybe i'm just tripping.

it took me almost 3 minutes to form a decent word, thinking about all of the hardships the club went through and how we barely survived when hwanhee left us. gritting my teeth, i replied.

"fine. we're doing this."

the coffee now looks very throwable. to both hanbin and taerae. things are gonna be great!

-

finals bit my ass ;( sorry for the long wait! and thanks for the votes 🥹 comments are VERY much appreciated too !!