too fragile for your love (too strong for your heart)

and i dedicate to you (my entire destiny) pt three

he's examining his brightly clad reflection in the full-length mirror with a critical eye, when there's a knock on the door of the changing room, he's in. "hey, jake? is the handsome guy sitting on the sofa, with you?"

"yeah," he answers, mechanically. "he's just waiting for me, so that he can drop me home."

there's a brief silence. "oh. i kinda thought he was your boyfriend."

he stumbles sideways, and has to hold a hand out, to prevent himself from falling shoulder-first through the flimsy door. i wish he was my boyfriend. "what? no, he's just a friend!"

"sorry," eunchae says, not sounding in the least bit, apologetic. "you guys give off college boyfriends vibes. is he your senior, then? is he an idol trainee? why's he dressed so formally?"

he presses his forehead against the mirror to calm himself down. he knows that it isn't eunchae's fault, but the more she speaks, the deeper of a hole he finds himself in. there's no way heeseung isn't hearing all of this; not with the way their voices are echoing around the otherwise empty shop.

"he's- he's already graduated," he says, tripping over his words. "he's the older brother ni-ki lives with, actually."

"wow!" eunchae exclaims. "i wouldn't have guessed it. he looks so young!"

and yeah, jake guesses that he can see what eunchae's talking about. on the surface, heeseung appears only a little older than him, by around three years, give or take. if he puts on some regular clothes, like a hoodie and a pair of ripped jeans, he will definitely be able to pass off as a third-year majoring in linguistic anthropology or music theory. but, it's always been clear as day that heeseung's more than what he looks like, ever since their first meeting, when he'd silenced a brewing fight with a single word, and taken charge of the uncertain situation, effortlessly.

"this concert thing you're buying clothes for," eunchae continues, blithely. "you're going with him, right? that's why he's here with you?"

"um, no, that's not really-"

"okay, just wait here! i think i've finally got the perfect outfit, for you!"

he sighs, equal parts tickled and mortified. eunchae's a whirlwind, all energy and flair tempered with maturity, but on the other hand, her observations are so far off the mark, that he's almost reluctant to go out and face heeseung, after all of this.

"here! try this on!" a heap of fabric lands on his head, presumably the result of eunchae throwing it over the wall, in a bid to prevent him from opening the door before he puts on whatever she's given him.

he changes out of his latest ensemble, and pulls on what looks like a black round-necked sweater, along with baggy jeans, held up by a belt.

when he looks at himself in the mirror, he's shocked. he actually... looks hot. like an expensive, elegant type of hot, not the street style hot he used to be, back in australia, before he found himself being forced to dress like a nun.

the sweater wraps around his flat, skinny body in a way that makes it look like he has more than a few decent curves, and the belt cinching the jeans at his waist accentuates the narrowness of his hips in a pleasing way. not to mention how the sleeves hug his arms and shoulders, turning his formless figure into an enticing one. "eunchae?" he calls, a slow smile stretching over his lips. "i would like to purchase this, thank you."

"you got it, sir!" eunchae answers, happily. "be right with you!"

***