Tired Lines; Soonhoon

13

☽

4:12 am.

Soonyoung seems to like it, Jihoon thinks. He's still a little melancholy, but more lambent, now. Warm, like he's comforted. Jihoon could just be playing up his own song, but nonetheless, he feels a rush of pride in knowing that he helped to lighten the boy's mood - even if it's just a little. His heart swells at Soonyoung's praise.

"Jihoon, that was so lovely."

"You think so?"

"I do, I really do."

He sits soft, eyes lidded and his smile droopy. It's cute, Jihoon thinks, he looks so, so cute; under dim lamplight and all but consumed by his massive black sweatshirt. His pupils seem to twinkle a bit, just a bit, and the sight of them is enough to make Jihoon's skin prickle from the affection surging through him.

Affection. That's not something he's used to.

"Now you have to show me your dancing," Jihoon says quickly, trying to move on to something else, and Soonyoung smiles, damn it.

"I do?" he teases. "I dunno - I mean, I guess I could take you by the studio sometime, if you'd like ... "

"Do you not sleep?" Jihoon asks. "How do you find the energy to dance and take online classes and go to parties when you stay up working? I know you said you have days off, Soonyoung, but I swear I see you in here every night."

That's enough to get a small, maybe even embarrassed, laugh out of the barista, his cheeks dusted a pink so faint Jihoon almost misses it. The latter can feel his heart skip a beat.

"I - Trust me, I do. I'm fine."

"Yes, Soonyoung, and I get a full eight hours of rest every night."

"I manage. I take naps when I can, and my classes aren't that time-consuming. You've got nothing to worry about, Jihoon."

"Yeah, well. I worry anyway."

And maybe he's just imagining it, but Jihoon thinks he isn't the only one burning from the warmth of his sentiment.

4:05 pm.

"Honestly, I don't get why you haven't asked him out yet." He says it so carelessly, like it's nothing. Jihoon splutters.

"Wh-Why the fuck would I do that? I swear to God, Mingyu, it's like you want me to embarrass myself."

Mingyu cocks his head to one side, opting to scan the cover of his textbook instead of catching Jihoon's glare. "That's true," he says, "I do love to embarrass you. But I mean this, Jihoon, I'm not just trying to set you up for failure."

"You've observed mine and Soonyoung's interactions a total of four times. All you know about my relationship with him is that we talk every now and then, and I - I'm - "

"You're in love with him?" Mingyu supplies.

"I am not in love with him! Christ, you get into one relationship and suddenly you think you're some sort of expert. I don't even know why I brought it up, honestly, I don't know what sort of advice I was expecting you to - Why the fuck are you laughing at me?"

Mingyu purses his lips, eyes squinting against the force of barely restrained laughter. Jihoon simmers, forcing himself to remain calm; this is, after all, a library they're in, and Jihoon's had his fair share of outbursts in here before - to the point that the librarian knows him by name. She's not exactly his biggest fan.

"I don't get what's so funny," he says, teeth gritted. 

"You, Jihoon, you're funny. You're so lost, like a dumb little animal. In a cute way, though."

"You can't call me a dumb little animal and expect 'cute' to make it okay."

Mingyu sighs, leaning back in his chair and smiling so coolly, Jihoon wants to shout. There is nothing cool about this. He's a mess, his heart is caught in a tangled web of thoughts and emotions and it's messy. He doesn't know what to make of anything, and Mingyu has the audacity to be cool about it.

"You know what, I'll let you sort this out on your own, just like I let you sort out everything on your own. Just - if you want to vent, I'm here, alright?"

"I don't need to pour my heart out to you," Jihoon mutters, arms crossed. Mingyu is clearly resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Jesus, you're so stubborn. I'm just saying, you know, if you ever change your mind. At the end of the day, I do want the best for you, Jihoon."

"Thanks," he deadpans, "I do, too."