at shinhwa university, two students dominate their respective circles.
san, a popular and talented computer engineering major known for his chivalry and skill, and wooyoung, the arts student and outgoing gossip enthusiast who has his finger on the p...
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it was half past nine, and normally by now, san would be packing up, getting ready to leave the library, the student centre, or wherever he'd spent the day studying. his nights were usually dedicated to the gaming café, a habit he'd picked up without much thought. but today was different. today, he found himself perched on a bench by the treadmills at the gym, staring down at his calloused hands, the roughness a reminder of the cold metal dumbbells he'd just put down.
"don't just sit there!" yoona's voice cut through the gym noise, breathy from her run on the treadmill at its fastest speed. "move, move, move!"
san didn't move.
every muscle in his body ached, and sitting perfectly still seemed like the better option. he watched as a bead of sweat slid off a strand of his hair, landing on his wrist. it felt like the only thing in motion, while everything else in him was at a standstill.
according to yoona—and practically everyone else in his life—san's 'live in the moment' philosophy was great in theory but reckless in practice.
they kept reminding him that staying out all night at the gaming café wasn't exactly what they meant by balance. maybe they were right, but san couldn't bring himself to care much. he liked video games, liked the rush, and didn't see why he should feel guilty about it. people talked about health standards like it was a law he had to follow, but it wasn't a law he was interested in.
it wasn't insomnia or any deep-rooted issue that pulled him away from campus each night. he didn't have a bad roommate, didn't have some unresolved trauma he was running from. he just enjoyed the games. the competition fired something inside him—a kind of fuel that burned brightest when he was behind a screen, in the thick of a match. and really, that was all there was to it.
still, here he was, in the gym, trying out yoona's "foolproof" plan to wear himself out enough to not even think about gaming when night fell. and though san had his doubts, the exhaustion creeping up on him made him think she might have been onto something.
he stared down at his arms—strong, solid, built for more than what he'd just put them through. someone like him, with his build, shouldn't have been this worn out after such a light workout.
maybe the sleepless nights really were getting to him.
the treadmill finally slowed to a halt, and yoona, drenched in sweat and panting harder than san, hopped off. she collapsed onto the small space beside him on the bench, her breath coming out in shallow gasps.
"seriously," she said, wiping her face with a towel. "you've gotta stop with the late-night gaming. it's not normal to go straight from a ten-hour game marathon to the gym."
san grunted, more out of habit than anything. he didn't disagree with her—he knew his routine was reckless—but the idea of giving up his nights felt like giving up a part of himself. it irritated him how much sense her words made. he hated being told what to do, even when it was something as simple as getting more sleep.
