A week of belonging (JeongCheol)

Monday

Seungcheol just discovered that he had a reputation. He had never really considered what others thought about him before, so when he overheard two girls talking about him on the stairs, he was admittedly very surprised. He dropped back when he heard his name, but still couldn't help but overhear. He always says yes to anyone who confesses to him on Monday, and they date for a week. Then on Sunday, he politely tells them he has not fallen in love and moves on. The girl covered her face. But for one week, you get to hope. Seungcheol is so wonderful.

The praise was a bit embarrassing. Sure, Seungcheol knew people had noticed him. He was a skilled athlete. He did well at school. And in recent weeks, he was almost always confessed to each Monday. He admired and respected those who could share their feelings so openly, and so he thought it was the least he could do to give them a chance. But he never really expected it to amount to much. He wasn't sure he even understood the idea of love.

Each week, he would accept the confessions and spend a bit of time with the girl, but inevitably it would become clear that the person had some expectations of who Seungcheol was that had no basis in reality. It was never really about him.

Despite all this, it was still exceedingly surprising when he got the first confession of this particular week. For a moment, he thought maybe it wasn't even a confession. It was the day of a test that Seungcheol had spent many evenings preparing to take. He was ready. He was focused. He was about to be thrown completely askew.

Jeonghan, a goofy, loud, awkward guy, who sat behind him for many months and mostly made jokes with Jisoo and lamented his homework, had dropped his eraser. It was mere instinct that required Seungcheol to grab it and place it back on his desk.

He doesn't even register it at the moment. But as he turned forward, the inscription burned into his brain: SC❤️.

He should have considered what he was asking, but Seungcheol never felt it worth leaving things unsaid. He turned around again and asked Jeonghan, What did you mean by SC❤️?

Jeonghan made some sort of garbled noise, sharp and unsettling, like a stubborn block of ice burning out a blender. His eyes grew wide as he fully took in Seungcheol's question, and he immediately blurted, It's not mine!

Well, that made more sense, really. He and Jeonghan weren't close. They didn't really spend a lot of time together. Then whose is it? Seungcheol insisted.

Jeonghan slid his eyes awkwardly around the room and then shook his head wildly. Fine. Its mine.

The teacher called their attention forward for their test, so there was no more room for further discussion.

Seungcheol had to accept that he had gotten his first confession of the week.

The interaction with Jeonghan echoed in Seungcheol's mind long after and completely took over when he was on break and his mind was free to roam. He likely did poorly on the test, unable to truly focus.

Seungcheol had never been confessed to by a guy. When he made this rule for himself, he never really considered it an option. It would be impossible to accept it, right? But how could he decline? It wouldn't be fair or just. How could he change his own rules just because he hadn't anticipated this?

He sipped down his drink, trying to calm his thoughts that were racing toward all possible outcomes. Would Jeonghan be very disappointed? Had he gotten the courage to share his true feelings because Seungcheol had the reputation of being open to giving others a chance? Would being turned down be all the more hurtful to Jeonghan for that reason?

When Jeonghan approached him, Seungcheol actually jumped a bit. He was not at all used to feeling so off-kilter and out of control. The unease settled into his bones and disturbed his balance.