heartbreak hotline || sunsun

xxiii.

the sun was already hinting at the night's end, and sunoo had still not been able to get any rest. like a lion hunting for its prey, those dreadful words seemed to attack him every time he allowed his mind to wander for just a second.

the more he thought about it, the less it made sense. could he really have been so clueless?

no, sunghoon was getting it all wrong. besides, what could he possibly know about love? if he was such an expert, why did he even call the hotline in the first place?

it didn't matter what he thought, kind of.

if he genuinely believed there was something between him and jake, then sunoo would simply have to convince him otherwise in order to keep his chances alive.

that didn't seem too difficult to accomplish, after all, sunoo was a master of his craft.

and before he even realized it, his alarm for school started going off.

5:30 in the morning, great.

_____________________________

the halls felt warmer today. the mood was different too, everyone seemed so... happy with each other.

sunoo had always believed spring to be the season of change, though he never thought it would be so literal.

as he heads towards his locker with a little kick to his steps, he notices sunghoon standing by his own locker, so he decided to make his first move.

"sunghoon!" the older turns around, giving him a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of wave.

his arm barely moved, it was more of a wrist flick than a greeting, but it was okay. sunghoon was just like that.

"hey so... about that thing you said yesterday..."

"yes?"

he can feel the older's piercing gaze on him, making him at least 20% more nervous than he already was. if his chances of looking back at him were low, they had now reached zero.

"i- well it's— you're like totally cool y'know i'm not offended or anything like i know jake can be a little over the top sometimes that's probably why i can't get a real boyfriend isn't that funny? ha... ha"

that last part came out barely above a whisper, with sunoo's checks growing red in embarrassment.

seriously though! i can't even go 5 full seconds without losing my cool over this guy. great job, sunoo.

as his eyes slowly crept up the figure in front of him, he was met with sunghoon's wistful smile and knitted brows.

"i'm so sorry, that didn't make sense at all"

it seemed like he was about to burst into laughter, or like he was extremely confused... or maybe both. whatever it was, at least it wasn't a bad expression.

"i'm starting to think red might actually be your natural skin color" sunghoon chuckles, but his amusement soon disappears when he realizes the nervous look on the blond's face.

"n-not that its a bad thing, you know. it's just that... i don't know, i find it cute" he atoned, "and don't worry about what i said, it wasn't my place to assume anything. i'm sorry if it caused any awkwardness between you and jake"

sunoo nods with a smile, a sign of acceptance towards the older's apology.

their eyes meet as they think of something else to say, but it seemed the cat got both their tongues.

not that the silence was bothersome, on the contrary, moments like this always felt more genuine for sunoo. someone who can sit with you through moments of lull is someone worth keeping by your side.

the clock marked 6:45, only 15 more minutes left before class, it was evident by the sudden increase of students running up and down the halls.

a wave of shyness washed over the boys' bodies as they realized how long they had been gazing into each other's eyes, quickly searching for something to change the mood.

"um, you've been pretty lively these days" the youngest smiles awkwardly.

"so i've been told" the older nods, "do you mind?"

sunghoon extends his arm and signals towards the hallway, indicating he was about to head towards his classroom. sunoo follows with a quick shake of his head as they continue the conversation.

"i didn't think it would be so obvious, but i've been feeling a bit different. maybe it's because of the help i've been getting"

the younger's mind immediately drifts to their conversations on the hotline, but acts clueless for obvious reasons.

"how so?"

they stop abruptly as they reach classroom 204, sunghoon's history class. he looks around to check for any bystanders, leaning towards sunoo once he confirms the coast is clear.

"can you keep a secret?"

the sudden question startles sunoo, but gains composure rather quickly. "huh? i mean... of course i can"

"i've been calling the heartbreak hotline, they helped me work out my issues with jay. you've surely heard of them before"

"i think i've heard that name yeah"
what a terrible liar he was.

"kind of embarrassed to talk about it, i don't have anything against guys being emotional but... you know. everyone thinks it's a girl thing" he shrugs, a low giggle escaping his lips.

the younger rolls his eyes at the comment.

"you'd be surprised with the amount of grown ass boys that keep calling" sunoo mumbles to himself, unfortunately he was still loud enough for sunghoon to hear.

"i'm sorry, what?"

"nothing!" he jolts, quickly checking the time on his phone. "i'm late for class"

"i thought yo—"

he rushes away before sunghoon can get another word out, he couldn't risk another slip up.

"i'll see you around!"