❝my youth is with you❞ yeonbin

chapter 13

Choi Yeonjun slowly opened his eyes, the light blinded him for a second. The stuffy room made his head dizzy, almost like his brain had trouble waking up. His throat burned with immense thirst, reminding him painfully of the evening before. He slowly moved his fingers and toes, trying to form a connection with reality. However, he groaned at every sudden feeling of pain in his stomach and legs. His body felt heavy, but his head was heavier. He would close and reopen his eyes to grasp the structure of the room he was in. 

"You're awake?" a low, hoarse voice sounded next to him. The next second he felt someone putting their arm around his body. He froze, unable to turn around and recognize the person. "Are you gonna vomit again?"

A word again rang some bells in his mind. His memories flashed in an instant with an appearance of a huge headache. He closed his eyes, furrowed his brows, and tried to remember the day before. 

×

Yeonjun's confidence that he tried to build up while getting dressed disappeared the moment he sat in the passenger seat of Bumjune's car. He greeted his 'friend'. The unnamed status of their relationship might have been the main reason, he was scared to meet his other friends. Bumjune moved closer to Yeonjun's seat, his arm wrapped around the passenger's headrest. He leaned into his face, but the boy turned his head the other way and faced straight, Bumjune ended up kissing Yeonjun's cheek. He chuckled at him, seeing it only as his friend's shyness. They drove off. Yeonjun was not thrilled to be kissed by him, but the red painted on his face anyway.

Bumjune turned up the music. The song was a pop hit, playing in every station every time someone would turn on the radio. The kind of song to be catchy and colorful at first. A cliche and simple with no drama type that gets annoying and disturbing with its perfection the more you listen to it. Yeonjun used to like that song when it was released, but as he was sitting in the car, listening to Bumjune quietly humming the lyrics, he realized he was annoyed by it.

"Can you remind me the names of your friends again?" He asked, turning down the music at the same time. It was just an excuse to stop listening to that awful song, as he had studied Bumjune's friends' Instagram profiles the night before and had their faces and names perfectly memorized.

"The host's Kang Hyemin. You already met Roh Jeongeui on my birthday before, but she can't make it today sadly."

"But there's gonna be way more, right?" Yeonjun asked quietly, he swallowed nervously. Opposite to what Bumjune thought Yeonjun would be feeling.

"You'll be fine, you're a funny kid that will get along with them. I'll be by your side anyway," he reassured him and put his hand on Yeonjun's thigh.

They arrived at the tall building. It was a University area full of small shops, cafés, and other campus buildings. Yeonjun felt troubled and out of place. His heart skipped a beat. He had never felt this nervous before meeting anyone. He was usually the most going out person anyone knew.

Bumjune turned off the engine, took out the key, and let out a small, worrying sigh. The teenager felt the other had something to say. He nudged his shoulder and looked at him. Bumjune pursed his lips, thinking about something deeply.

"I had no idea how to start this convo, I failed to bring it up since yesterday..." Bumjune laughed nervously. "There is something."

"What happened?" Yeonjun asked, he unfasten his belt and turned his body to the other.

"That something between us, I like it, alright?" Bumjune admitted shyly. "And I definitely want to keep it that way and more in the future," he looked the other way. Yeonjun flushed red hearing his words, however, his smile started fading as Bumjune continued. "But some people there might be the opposite of this. That's why today I want to introduce you only as my childhood friend, are you fine with that?"