omoikiri // harumaki

fourteen

"Harucchi!"

Maki watched as Harua excitedly hugged one of the girls who had stopped him to have a conversation. Maki couldn't fathom how someone as adorable and sweet as Harua could get bullied — he was the first person that Maki had gotten feelings for, and he was possibly the nicest person he knew.

"Mhm — he's my boyfriend."

Maki's head shot up at those words, a blush of embarrassment covering his cheeks immediately as the girls next to Harua squealed. "Really?!"

"That handsome guy?!"

"You're lying!"

"There's no way!"

Maki smiled to himself, even though he feigned nonchalance by occupying himself with his phone — it made him happy to see Harua be proud about dating him. Even Maki himself felt oddly giddy because he was really dating a boy — the prettiest boy he had seen in a while.

"Maki-san!"

Maki looked up from his phone as he felt an arm go over his shoulder. Beside him stood Fuma and Jo. "Jo-kun..."

Jo glanced back at Harua for a second, a smile decorating his expression. "Fuma-kun is treating us to some snacks — wanna come with? We can introduce you to Nicholas and Euijoo-kun as well."

Maki looked over at his boyfriend for a moment before humming. "Let me tell Haru first."

"Of course he prioritises his boyfriend," Fuma chuckled as he crossed his arms. "You have a minute, so make quick."

Maki nodded, quickly making his way over to Harua. The shorter smiled at Maki as he approached him. "What's wrong, Makki?"

"The others want to hang out for a bit — are you still going to be busy?" Maki asked. His eyes flicked to the two girls and he flashed a small smile, causing them to squeal in excitement. "We'll be outside with all the stalls if you need me."

"Oh, you can go ahead — I'll probably catch up later. Since our class is doing everything outside and in the gym, I don't really have anything to do," Harua hummed. "I'll help Yudai-chan and his class for a bit."

Maki nodded, lifting a hand to ruffle Harua's hair before pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. "I'll see you in a bit, okay? Call me if you need anything."

The girls screamed in excitement once again as Maki walked off to the others. Harua's face was bright red as he gingerly waved a hand to Maki, smiling as the other two boys waved their hands as well to Harua before walking off. "Jo's finally making more friends..."

•

"Harua must be surprised to see Jo-kun hanging out with other people," Fuma said with a chuckle, causing the subject to frown in response. "Let's be honest, Jo — you're a loser."

"A lo—?! Meanie!" Jo exclaimed weakly as he punched Fuma's arm. "I'm not a loser. I'm just quiet."

"Harua's your only friend, isn't he?" Maki asked, causing the other to fall quiet in embarrassment. "I knew it."

"I'm also his friend," Fuma added with a smile. "We're all Jo's friends, he just doesn't know it yet. Yuma's your friend too, isn't he? He's always inviting you to play volleyball with him."

"Because they just need a tall person to be middle block..."

"That means he likes hanging out with you, silly," Fuma laughed. "Yudai's your friend too — and so is Takayama-kun."

"You have more friends than I thought," Maki hummed with a smile. "Fuma-kun is my only friend."

Jo was quiet for a bit as he finally looked up. "I'm your friend too."

Fuma glanced between the two with a proud smile. As he was about to talk, he heard his name being shouted from across the field. "Oh — Nicho! Euijoo-san!"

Maki bowed to the newly arrived people, as he wasn't familiar with them. Nicholas was awfully handsome, while Euijoo seemed very bubbly and sweet based on his body language. Fuma and Jo spoke with the two, giving Maki some time to observe the other two. Nicholas and Euijoo wore matching bracelets, and they stood quite closely beside one another.

"Is that okay, Maki?"

Maki snapped back to reality, simply nodding as he had no idea what they were talking about. Nicholas patted Maki's back with a smile. "I'm Nicholas — I moved to Japan a couple of years back. Murata-kun said that you moved to Japan as well?"

"Oh, my mother's Japanese and my dad is German," Maki responded as the group began walking. "I lived in Germany until I was six until we relocated and now have permanent residency here."

"Nicho moved from Taiwan," Fuma said, causing Maki to raise his eyebrows in surprise. "He's practically been here his whole life, so he's an honorary Japanese person. Euijoo will only be with us for three months — what a shame. Won't you miss your boyfriend, Nicho?"

"Of course I will," Nicholas said with a sad laugh. "It was so difficult to find another guy that liked guys that wasn't Harua."

Maki raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with Harua?"

"Nothing, really — I'm just not interested in him," Nicholas shrugged. "Even if it's for three months, I'm sure I'll enjoy this time."

"We can still talk while I'm in South Korea," Euijoo said with a smile as he held Nicholas's hand. "Heck, I'll try to visit as often as possible."

"Do you two like each other that much already?" Jo asked in surprise as they nodded. "That's insane... you barely know one another."

"Well, Harua and Maki are dating."

"It's different — they like one another." Euijoo and Nicholas looked at one another for a moment before stifling their laughs. Fuma shook his head as he tried not to laugh as well. "Emotion is important in a relationship, isn't it?"

"Oh, we've gotten to know each other quite well after these few days," Euijoo nodded. "Nicho is very nice to me and he hasn't done anything dumb yet, so I trust him. I don't want to be his friend, in any case — I want to be his boyfriend."

Maki made an impressed face. "Maybe I should be so bold about dating Harua as well."

"You should — Harua loves being showered with love," Jo told him. "Maybe that's why he was so hesitant about telling you how he feels."

Maki laughed as he shook his head. "I think he likes that I'm not so persistent."