Apple (Jay is in Love, by Park Sunghoon)

08.4

"- Being in love... is like being an apple." Park Sunghoon tells him one silly time.

It definitely is not in Jungwon's habits to hang out with silly people like Park Sunghoon, yet as they say, desperate situations call for desperate measures, and the measures Jungwon takes today are one cone of vanilla ice cream and a chat with the person he least would have bet he would have ended said chat with not even one week ago.

Park Sunghoon twists the red apple he had picked from the fruit basket displayed on the showcase of the ice cream buckets. Jungwon could not fathom why a random fruit basket, and a single one, was put there. It was rather suspicious, yet Park Sunghoon did not hesitate before taking an apple from it. He was now eating it with his choco-cassis ice cream, and Jungwon blinks a few times to get himself rid of an upcoming migraine.

"- How is that?"

Park Sunghoon is acting like the wise man he will never be. He shuts his eyes and keep them closed for a moment while humming and nodding. He looks very bizarre, yet Jungwon says no comments, for they ought to be mean, and Jungwon needs to extract precious information from this clownish specimen.

"- When you are in love, you get shy and flustered. You get jealous. But you feel joyous." He answers as he slowly opens his eyes. He stares at the apple, and Jungwon says nothing at all, sensing that the boy means to elaborate. "- Blushing from shyness like a red apple. Apple green jealous. Yellow apples for the fluttering feeling of joy." He explains before biting on his apple softly. "- You are yet to even experience one apple. But if you feel these three, then love it is that weighs your heart."

"- That is some quite interesting analogy." Jungwon acknowledges, crossing his arms over his chest.

"- You call it." Park Sunghoon shrugs, now licking his little spoon of ice cream like a child. "- You, O-great President Yang Jungwon, why, oh, you ask about love?"

"- I assume you only need the honest answer since you have honestly answered and without asking for the reason first. How sly."

Park Sunghoon only shrugs.

"- Well." Jungwon smiles a bit, though not genuine and only polite. He evidently would have rather kept the reason secret, since it was personal, yet he knows that, provided with it, Park Sunghoon will surely be more helpful, or rather, less useless. "- I mean to take Park Jay on a date, as to discover this love he seems to be so hopelessly developing for me." He pauses and takes the time to muse his next words, looking up at the ceiling. "- As odd as this may be. I was thinking that you would have more experience in the subject matter than me. You could tell."

Jungwon hears about the 'Two Parkz shenanigans' from Jaeyun quite oft, sometimes under the form of whining and some other times with giggles and loud laughter. Truly, he had expected Park Sunghoon to make a face at his reveal, for he would not find the idea of someone wanting to date Park Jay very appealing or even logical. However, Park Sunghoon perks up at the sole mention of it.

"- He does have the softest of spots for you!" Park Sunghoon grins with multiple nods. "- Smitten and whipped."

Jungwon uncrosses his legs and puts the right one over the other. He clears his throat and takes his napkin to wipe the last bits of stickiness from his lips.

"- So I've heard and seen." He affirms. "- How do we date people?"

That was quite embarrassing to ask, and Jungwon feels agitated only because he had not expected the question to make him feel any ashamed, for he never cared about dating in the first place. He likes to know things and to be the one giving pieces of advices; when studies were involved, Jungwon asks with no restrictions of bashful feelings, yet when it came to social issues, and something as strikingly popular as love in a romantic way, Jungwon found it hard to ask about anything that touches the topic.

"- Are you asking me?" Park Sunghoon questions around a mouthful of apple while pointing himself, as though someone else was present with them.

"-... Yes?" Jungwon frowns.

"- Does it look like I date people? Oho, no. Nononono." Park Sunghoon scoffs and shakes both his head and his index, tutting several times with closed eyes. "- I do not date people." He clicks his tongue once. "- PEOPLE date ME."

"- I do not care about that." Jungwon says, flat and honest. "- Listen, I only desire to know how to date Park Jay."

"- And I'm highly rooting for you!" Park Sunghoon chirps with both his fists slightly held up, at his shoulders' level.

"- I sought you specifically because you seem to be one of Jay's closest friends."

"- Look here, then." Park Sunghoon exclaims, clasping his hands together and before himself. "- There is a difference between dating people and dating Park Jay... At least, in my humble opinion."

Jungwon raises one eyebrow and scoffs subtly.

"- And what is this difference? In your oh-so humble opinion?"

"- How, why. I would not date Park Jay."

"- You are being chiefly futile to me, Park Sunghoon." Jungwon states, folding his arms on his chest.

"- Ow." He utters with a deep frown. "- You can ask Jake, then."

"- And I will." Jungwon nods as he gently pushes his seat back. "- Let us go, the others are with no doubt inquiring themselves and each other about where we might be." He sighs as he stands up and collects his trash.

"- Yes, and quickly." Sunghoon stands up as well, adjusting his hat, keeping the remnant of his apple between his lips to free his hands. "- Jay will start thinking of me as his love rival if he sees me eating some ice cream with dear you, president." He grins after munching on the last piece of his apple, while the two of them head back to the main hallway.

"- Ridiculous if not utterly gross."