Apple (Jay is in Love, by Park Sunghoon)

02

"- What happened to 'don't do anything stupid'?"

Sunghoon opens his mouth to answer quickly. However, he only frowns and utters a 'huh' because of how random the question was in the midst of their hyped conversation about the wonders of fishing.

"- You could have started the question with 'oh, unrelated but' or a simple 'By the way'." Sunghoon points out with a frustrated huff. "- What is it, now?"

"- My theory is that you know exactly what it is about, and you do not want to discuss it because you know you haven't been right to do so." Jake assumes oh-so wrongly. How dare he assume his dearest best friend would do him such an abhorrently stupid and sly thing!

"- Uh... I mean, it's true that stated like that..." Sunghoon mumbles with a light tilt of his head. "- Listen, it wasn't my intent." He defends with his hand on his heart. "- Wholeheartedly."

Jake glances quickly to the side, surely checking on Jay, as the latter has yet to join them and is still choosing what to get himself for lunch today, among the many students lined up.

"- Don't be silly!" Jake hisses in a whisper as he leans his upper body over the table. "- Hoon, how am I supposed to get Park Jay a date with THEE Yang Jungwon?"

"- What do you mean?" Sunghoon pouts. "- What is the issue?"

He so perfectly sees the issue, getting such polar opposites together was as difficult as opening a bottle of wine with bare teeth. Nevertheless, Sunghoon needs time, and time shall be offered freely to him if Jay came to join their table; Jake would not dare bring up the matter for a while, surely wishing Jay would forget the deal.

"- Drop the dumb play! You know how impossible that is!"

"- But that's your problem now!" Sunghoon beams. Jake frowns in a cute way, though Sunghoon knows that when he frowns so deeply, it announces nothing good. "- Besides! YOU are President's close friend, am I right or am I right? It mustn't be hard! Just talk about Jay like he is his ideal type."

"- Jungwon has no ideal type. He literally only cares about studies and his duties and image as the President of the Students Council." Jake argues. Sunghoon scowls.

"- My ship is flunking because of youuuuuuuu."

"- The conversation about fishing is over." Jake sighs, deep and loud.

"- Not this ship! Ship as in relationship." Sunghoon explains patiently; it is the nth time he explains to Jake what a ship is when it is not the thing floating on water.

"- Is that some BL jargon that I don't get?"

Now, this is getting frustrating. Jake had asked him the same thing last time Sunghoon had mentioned his favorite ship of Honkai Star Rail.

"- Partially. It's a pair, two people." He claps his hands once. "- Like Jaywon." He beams.

"- Jaywon...?" Jake whispers, squinting his eyes. He does that whenever he fails to understand the plots of the webtoons and manhwas he likes and reads; though it becomes wearying to tell him things he can barely keep up with, it still is very cute of him to listen and humor Sunghoon.

"- Jay + Jungwon." Sunghoon explains joyously, signing a plus sign in the air.

"- What the fuck..." Jake whispers in his perfect Australian accent. "- Did you... Just merge their names?"

"- Yes!" Sunghoon giggles. "- Hehehehe. A ship name."

"- That does ring a bell." Jake nods. "- Wait, no, I shouldn't encourage you in your twisted plan of setting these two together." He says quickly afterwards.

"- Why, don't you want to help our dear friend and comrade, the first of the Three Musketeers, in his pursuit of happiness?"

Jake rolls his eyes at his glorifying statement.

"- He's just gonna get royally rejected." He shrugs.

"- That makes me think!" Sunghoon twits, clicking his thumb against his forefinger once. "- Is President into boys?"

Sunghoon had assumed that President Yang Jungwon was into boys mainly because he did not want to face the probability of him being straight and thus, his ship sinking forever. Additionally, Jay has been into President for long enough for Sunghoon to skip this major detail. Finally, his gay-dar never errs.

Jake sighs again and sends him a weary look. If anyone shall be tired right now, it definitely should not be Jaeyun!

"- He is into studies." He states.

"- How BORING. How am I supposed to transform Jay into some textbook?"

Jake ignores him. Sunghoon starts pouting again.

"- ... Considering Jay's, I quote, "average level in academics"-"

"- He REALLY said that?"

The two jolt in their seats, and Jake, ever so loyal to himself, is already holding his heart as though he almost had a heart attack, and then they say Sunghoon's the most dramatic! How ridiculous!

"- Where's the lie?" Sunghoon smirks at the third member of their trio. Amazing trio, if you ask him.

Jay basically throws his tray on the table, making Jake start again and close his eyes, before taking a seat beside him and facing Sunghoon.

"- How ugly." Sunghoon jibes with a fake grimace. "- You know I would rather eat my lunch with you beside me. Seeing your face while taking any spoonful always ruins my appetite."

"- You know I don't give a shit about your appetite." Jay jibes back before opening his box of lunch. A bento, they call it. Why did he even bother lining up to get himself a tray then?

"- You wound me." Sunghoon says before grabbing his chopsticks. "- And here, me and dearest Jaeyun-

"- No."

"- Were so kindly trying to assist you by discussing your pursuit of happiness!"

Jay sends him the same weary look as Jake earlier. It makes Sunghoon scowl a bit; their lack of reaction is anything but fun and funny. He pushes a can of coffee from his tray to Jay's side of the table without saying a thing.

"- What is this about, now?" Jay questions.

"- Your promised date with President Yang Jungwon, evidently!" Sunghoon quips before digging his chopsticks in his lunch, starting with the meat balls because they are his favorite today.

"- Hoon!" Jake scolds furiously.

Oh-oh...

"- Yunie." He smiles to him.

In the meantime, Jay seems to face some emotional crisis, as his mouth opens and he blushes, though he says nothing, and closes it again before his face starts looking surprised and alarmed.

"- Wait, that means Jake also believes I have a crush on Yang Jungwon?" He looks between him and Sunghoon a few times.

"- We don't believe that." Sunghoon shakes his head, slowly and carefully munching on his meat ball to savor every bit of it. "- We know it."

Jay turns to his right and starts a conversation with Jake as though Sunghoon is not sitting at the same table as them. How disrespectful.

"- I don't know why Sunghoon thinks I have a crush on Yang Jungwon. That's not true."

Sunghoon gasps.

"- I SAW YOU WINK AT HIM AND SEND HIM A HEART LAST GAME!!!"

Jay groans loudly and throws his head back.

"- If you don't have a crush on him, I don't see why I should bother arranging a date between you two." Jake shrugs.

Nice play.

"- Please." Is the last thing Jay says before they both start smirking.

He knew Jake would eventually join him in his plot.