SECRET EMBRACE | Jeonghan X Joshua | JiHan

FIFTEEN

Joshua

As Jeonghan settled back in, after his phone call, Joshua found himself unreasonably irritated. He didn't know why—Jeonghan's personal life isn’t his business. But for some reason, the easy way he spoke to whoever was on the phone rubbed him the wrong way.

Maybe it’s the way Jeonghan had softened, the way his usually playful voice had dipped into something more tender. It was a side of Jeonghan that Joshua never saw—should never wanted to see.

For some reasons, that soft spoken voice, bothered him.

And yet, something about it lingered in his mind.

"You’re quiet," Jeonghan commented, his gaze sharp as always.

Joshua blinked, then scowled. "I was reading. Something you should be doing too."

Jeonghan hummed, as if he didn’t believe him, but also didn’t push.

But then Joshua was painfully aware of Jeonghan again. The scent of his colong, dark chocolate coffee, the way his hair falls over his forehead when he glances down at the book, the slight furrow of his brows when he was concentrating.

Joshua needed a distraction. Fast.

And still, there were more to finish. So he started to type back on the keyboard after glancing at jeonghan for the one last time.

After Jeonghan also had settled down on the floor comfortably, the two of them fell into an unspoken rhythm. The teasing from earlier had faded, replaced by quiet concentration.

Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes turned into hours.

Neither of them spoke unless it was necessary. Jeonghan, surprisingly, was focused. More than Joshua had ever expected.

His usual lazy smirk was nowhere to be seen—replaced instead by a sharp, calculating look as he scanned through their slides, adjusting details and double-checking equations.

Joshua, despite himself, was impressed.

Not that he’d say it out loud.

The only thing left now was refining their design—making the presentation not just informative, but engaging.

Jeonghan was typing, his fingers moving fluidly over the keyboard as he adjusted the layout of one of the slides.

Joshua watched out of the corner of his eye, pretending to be absorbed in his own work, but the way Jeonghan’s brows knit together in focus—it was... different.

Not the usual playful, carefree Jeonghan. This was a side of him Joshua had never seen before.

He was fully focused, serious.

The air in the room was getting warmer. Joshua had felt some sweat but he didn't care much about it, but now he noticed something else—Jeonghan, sitting beside him on the floor, his sweater slightly loose around his collar, his short hair sticking slightly to his forehead.

It wasn’t just the heat that caught Joshua’s attention. It was the way Jeonghan looked in this moment—completely immersed in their work, eyes scanning the screen with uncharacteristic focus, lips slightly parted in concentration.

Joshua found himself staring—just for a second too long.

The dim afternoon light filtering through the window cast soft shadows on Jeonghan’s face, accentuating the sharp cut of his jaw, the gentle curve of his cheekbones. His long lashes framed his eyes in a way that almost felt unfair, and the way his brows furrowed slightly in thought—it was... distracting.