textbooks - jeongcheol

four

"i think this is going to be my first time over at your house hyung." seokmin says with a tiny smile while jeonghan lets out a sigh.

"you'll hope its your last." he says in a defeated and tired voice as he unlocks the door, causing seokmin to raise his brow.

they both entered the home and seokmin couldn't help but take a look around, there were family pictures everywhere. and i mean EVERYWHERE.

"i'm home!" jeonghan shouts as he takes off his shoes and seokmin follows suit, they make it through the hallway and in the kitchen mrs. yoon spots them.

"ah? is this a new friend hannie?" she asks with a smile while seokmin gives her a polite bow. jeonghan lets out a sigh, he nudges seokmin with his shoulder.

"o-oh, hello mrs yoon, i'm lee seokmin! i have pe with jeonghan hyung." he says as he gives a polite bow and had a huge smile on his face, a smile that was contagious and even made jeonghan snicker.

"what a handsome boy you are." she says with the same cheery voice she would always use.

"stay and have dinner with us if you can- oh and hannie, your dad is inviting the new neighbours, the son is around your age so the two of you and i already asked chan to converse with him." she says and jeonghan nods.

the two then proceed to go up the stairs to jeonghan's room, once entered seokmin had nothing else to say but "woah." he looked around the room with amazement and a twinkle in his eye.

it was so...so...so...clean!

"what, you've never seen a clean room before?" jeonghan asks as he takes his backpack off and puts it on the chair by his desk, he then proceeds to look at him.

seokmin was cautious at first but then he also proceeds to put his backpack down.

"wow hyung you-"

"so what do you think of joshua?" jeonghan asks him, cutting him off as he guides seokmin to his bed by placing his hands on shoulders and making him sit down.

"joshua?" seokmin says as he tilts his head, jeonghan blanks out,

"ah right, shua is jisoo's english name." he says and seokmin nods, a fascinated look on his face.

"jisoo hyung is.. nice! talented... handsome... great handwriting...the dreamiest eyes.." seokmin loses his trail of thought as he talks about him, and that makes jeonghan's mischievious smile grow larger, he was grinning ear to ear and then, out of nowhere he claps his hands together, pumping up a fist.

"now that's the energy i'm looking for!" he points at him and looks...quite...sporadic.

jeonghan leans in closer, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "seokminnie,  you seem to be smitten by jisoo. I say go for it!"

seokmin blushes, feeling a bit caught off guard. "well, i mean, he's just a nice guy and all. i don't know if he's interested in me like that."

jeonghan raises an eyebrow, a sly smile playing on his lips. "well, you'll never know unless you try, right? life's too short to hesitate. besides, I can sense the uh.. sparks when you talk about him."

seokmin chuckles nervously, scratching the back of his head. "you really think so hyung?"

jeonghan nods enthusiastically, this was going according to his plan, that of course only he knew about. "look, you're a great guy, and jisoo... uh seems like someone you'd get along with." that was a blatant lie. "why not take a chance? invite him to hang out, grab coffee, or join us for lunch  sometime. who knows, he might feel the same way."

seokmin  ponders the idea for a moment, the twinkle of excitement growing in his eyes. "you think i should, huh?"

jeonghan gives him two thumbs up, "definitely! they don't call me cupid for nothing.. haha.." the nervous laughter was his brain telling him to shut up, but oh well. anything to get jisoo over seungcheol

"well then... um... could you ask jisoo hyung what he thinks about me when you see him tomorrow?"

jeonghan blanks.. he stares at seokmin for a while before he nods hesitantly.

"i'll ask him but don't expect too much of an answer, cause he barely knows you.. he'll probably give more of an answer the more you sit with him, jisoo loveeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssss people who are smiley and cheery." another lie, this one even made jeonghan cringe a little because poor seokmin had the biggest smile on his face.

"thank god i'm good at that." seokmin says softly as he looks down at his hands.

there was guilt and excitement filled in jeonghan's heart which left him wondering if this was all worth it, no, it definitely was. seungcheol and jisoo was a big nono in jeonghan's mind.

__

two hours had slipped by like a gentle breeze, though with a hint of awkwardness. jeonghan had engaged in conversation, predominantly about school and, a persistent inquiry about jisoo from seokmin. the room bore witness to their exchanged words and lingering moments.

a soft knock interrupted their conversation, and before jeonghan could say 'come in!'  bam!

his younger brother, chan, barged in. the interruption was met with a sarcastic remark from jeonghan, accompanied by a playful hit to chan's butt. he told them that mrs yoon asked them to come downstairs—the guests had arrived.

"what's the point of knocking when you're just going to barge your big ass head in here," jeonghan teased.

chan rolled his eyes in response. "whatever, just hurry up with whatever creepy conversations you're having about jisoo hyung before i tell him."

seokmin blushed at the implication, his eyes widening, while jeonghan hit chan on the heda for eavesdropping before he ushered him out of the room.

"i'll tell him...!" chan shouted as he descended the stairs, leaving jeonghan to turn around and pull seokmin's hand. "don't worry; he's incapable of talking. he won't tell anyone," jeonghan reassured, though uncertainty lingered in seokmin's expression. a slight nod conveyed his acceptance, and together they walked down the stairs.

midway down, jeonghan noticed the neighbors standing in front of him, their backs turned. mrs. yoon saw him and beckoned him closer, prompting him to approach.

"there you are, jeonghan. come here and meet mr. kim's son! he's your age," mrs. yoon called out. as jeonghan made his way down,  not thinking too much of it until seokmin called out,

"cheol hyung is that you?!"

jeonghan.. at that moment felt his hear skip a beat, he whipped his head up while

the boy turned around, revealing himself as the one and only narcissistic asshole that triggered jeonghan's nerves, there he stands,  locking eyes with the choi seungcheol.