pluto ; jungjoo

18.

jooyeon was really so glad hyeongjun decided to tag along and spend some time with him and jungsu in the evening. the elder managed to somehow lighten up the mood and ease the awkwardness jooyeon was so sure only he felt, because, jungsu indeed was very unaware of everything going on in his head, therefore he had nothing to feel tense about.

the youngest among the three of them didn't know how it would go if he was alone with jungsu now. would it be better than he imagined it in his head, or worse. he kind of didn't even want to know. what mattered at that very moment was the fact that hyeongjun was with them and everything seemed so much better.

hyeongjun was surprisingly getting on well with jungsu, there was still something about the way the elder looked at jungsu that made jooyeon furrow his eyebrows but it was better than any other day before. the two shared small conversations here and there as jooyeon was mostly the one talking and it was actually nice to have both of them there by his side.

unlike with the guy from the flower shop, when looking at hyeongjun and jungsu's little interactions, it wasn't giving him that weird feeling ⸺ jealousy ⸺ at all. there were nothing uncomfortable in his stomach, nor any sort of feeling like wanting to be alone suddenly and not see anyone. it was rather warm in fact. something so comfortable and cozy, when he looked at the two elder ones. he didn't know why in this case hyeongjun was this radically different from the other guy, maybe just because he knew the elder. and the two had been friends since forever.

but was that the case or not, jooyeon felt good just with the realization of a fact that he didn't feel bad in any way when seeing the jungsu and hyeongjun interact. another way why it could be so, was the fact that hyeongjun never really liked jungsu and as much as jooyeon hated that fact and wanted for the two of them to get along well, it calmed him down in a sense of knowing that the elder would never like jungsu the way he himself did.

it felt weird, admitting to himself that he really did like jungsu that way, that he somehow managed to start falling for him and that very uncomfortable feeling he had for the past few days was indeed jealousy. but at the same time, accepting it all felt even better. now he was not confused at all, knowing the names of exact emotions made him really feel at ease, as if something heavy was lifted from his shoulders.

seeing his now two favorite people ⸺ his childhood bestfriend and the boy he fell for finally starting to build some sort of friendship, made him feel so happy. he knew he definitely wouldn't be thinking that if it was the other guy here with them, but jooyeon shook his head slightly, telling himself not to think about anything negative and focus on the good that he was seeing and hearing at that certain moment because thinking about it, he would love to cherish this very moment forever.

jooyeon smiled with so much admiration, the moment he locked eyes with jungsu for a brief second, feeling butterflies in his stomach awakening the moment jungsu returned the usual smile back. it was not as bright as it used to be weeks and months before when they first met, but it always was beautiful.

jungsu nodded his head at something jooyeon said the moment after their shared small smile. he was not going to lie, he felt that there was something going on in the younger's head and he hated not knowing anything about it. there was something jooyeon wasn't telling. he felt that so vividly, as the emotion seemed to be such a strong one. it made him overthink. why did jooyeon have to hide something from him, when he always, always told him every single thing going on in his head.

allowing him to know what he had been feeling after his mother's passing had to be the final step of fully opening up. jungsu knew jooyeon trusted him and after that certain night he thought the younger would even more open to him than he was before, tell him more about everything he had felt and anything going around. but for whatever reason, it was not the key.