The Cupid Tragedy

IX. The Storm

  "You can thank me later for this opportunity." Guanlin winked a bit too enthusiastically for Yuto's liking. He had seen the same devilish grin on the young one before and it usually meant trouble.
"Opportunity for what?"
"You know...to ask Wooseok if he wants to join the baseball team." Again, with the wink.
"Stop winking."
"Okay." The brat winked again and before Yuto could attack him, Guanlin made a run for it towards the claw machines.

Speechless at whatever Guanlin had in mind, Yuto turned away and noticed Wooseok standing by himself, looking a bit lost without his friend. Kino had opted out of going to the arcade for some reason as they were walking along before. Wooseok did offer to go with him but Kino insisted that he would be okay. Yuto made eye contact with Wooseok and walked over, chuckling, "I don't know what's gotten into Guanlin."
"He's a bit hyperactive today."
Probably because his idol is with us. Yuto smiled at the thought, "Did you want to play a game of basketball hoops with me?" His offer was quickly accepted with a nod from Wooseok. They stood side by side in front of the two machines. The game started and it was obvious who was going to win from the get-go. Yuto had a natural athletic ability from a young age and pretty much excelled at most sports, eventually settling for baseball in high school. You'd think Wooseok's freakishly long limbs would be an advantage in a game like basketball hoops but you couldn't be more wrong considering Wooseok's poor coordination and innate clumsiness. In their second game, Wooseok tried his best to get another ball in but instead, smashed the ball against the hoop which then bounced back and hit him in the face. Wooseok ended up crouching on the floor, covering his face to ease the immediate rush of pain from the impact, hoping it wouldn't result in blood nose.
Yuto stopped playing immediately and came to Wooseok's side in a panic, "Are you alright?" He had never witnessed someone get injured from a one-person basketball game before. Wooseok slowly uncovered his face and got flustered over how close Yuto's face was to his. Too close!
"Y-yeah! I'm fine!" He exclaimed whilst his pupils shaked from the close encounter.
"Your face is getting red, are you sure you're alright?" Concerned, Yuto leaned in closer for a better look which only made things worse for poor Wooseok, of course.
"No, no, no, I'm fine." Wooseok backed away until his back was against another game machine. He saw Guanlin rushing over and had to cup his cheeks in an attempt to get the blushing would go away.

===

Whilst Hongseok and Hyojong were busy grilling Hui at the table, Jinho's eyes latched onto the sight of Kino walking past the window of the restaurant and nearly spat out his water. KINO! Kino looked down at the ground as he walked for a bit and then forced himself to hold his head up high with a long face. Jinho didn't understand why seeing Kino like that saddened him so much but regardless, he was compelled to do something...anything.
"I forgot something! I have to leave!" Jinho cried out, startling the others with his sudden outburst.
What the fxck? Don't leave me here with these humans! Hui projected his thoughts into Jinho's head, coupled with a look of betrayal. Jinho was the only reason Hui ended up in this mess in the first place.
"Let me know how much the food was. See you guys!" Jinho hugged his bag and rushed out of the restaurant without looking back, clearly fixated on Kino. Just a few minutes after, Hongseok excused himself from the table, claiming he needed to be home soon.

And then, there were two.

====

Hey, hey, isn't that Yan An?
Oh my god, I think it is.

Changgu had a hard time ignoring the whispers and murmurs which had started as soon as he came into the cafe with Yan An. Of course, he himself understood what all the fuss was about. Even he couldn't fathom the situation. Yan An, the Shanghai prince, the school model, the guy who came out of a manga, was hanging out with him. It took a lot of courage for Changgu to ask Yan An to hang out after they finished helping out the teacher but he didn't actually think it would happen.
"Thanks for helping out today." Changgu said for what must have been the 100th time since they left school. He really had nothing else to say to Yan An. Well, apart from the likes of 'Thank you for existing', 'Can you please tell me what it's like to be so beautiful?' etc etc.
"It was nothing." Yan An said, feeling a bit guilty for the gratitude he was receiving. He hadn't intended to volunteer. It was an accident...a really weird one. Regardless, this was his opportunity to get to know Changgu and yet he was feeling so shy, he couldn't even properly strike a conversation.
"I'm surprised you're always helping out with these tasks. Isn't it tiring?" Yan An asked, hoping that it didn't come across as if he was always paying attention to Changgu...even though he practically was anyway.
"I usually have to go to the tuition centre afterwards so it's not too bad," Changgu panicked, "Wait, am I keeping you from something?"
"No, not at all." Yan An smiled, "I should be the one worrying about keeping you."
Oh god, that beautiful smile.
At that moment, a waitress came by and placed their drinks on the table. Yan An had ordered a large fancy milkshake which came in a tall glass whilst Changgu had opted for a hot chocolate in a medium-sized tea cup.
"Ah sorry, my glasses are fogging up a bit..." Changgu took off his glasses and held them up to his eyes to examine them. It was probably both fortunate and unfortunate that he couldn't see Yan An silently freaking out on his side of the table. It wasn't his first time seeing Changgu without glasses but he had never seen it up close and it would be no exaggeration to say he saw flowers blossoming around Changgu's face in real time. Changgu was cute with his glasses on but without them, Yan An was absolutely in trouble.