don't listen » soonhoon

06

jihoon spent a good few months trying to shove that day out of his head. spoiler alert: nothing worked.

at the same time, jihoon wasn't surprised at how much he loved soonyoung. it'd never been much of a thought to him, just a natural feeling. he and soonyoung went together like bread and butter, alright on their own but even better together.

after that fateful day, soonyoung fulfilled jihoon's wish and acted like nothing happened. they talked occasionally over message or on the phone, but soonyoung would never show jihoon any videos of his dance group no matter how many times jihoon asked. according to soonyoung, it was still a 'work in progress'.

over a year passed by, with jihoon being bored home alone for a majority of it. without soonyoung, he had barely any reasons to go out. he did have a few other friends from university - seungcheol, a rapper studying classical music history (ironically enough) and joshua, an exchange student from america with a voice like honey - but jihoon didn't like any of them enough to escape the comfort of his bed.

one warm night, jihoon stopped by the rice cake shop by himself. he ordered the usual plate, but found himself struggling to finish. he even found himself buying two bottles of banana milk instead of one. he didn't realise how big of a presence soonyoung was in his life until he was gone.

the one time he decided to drop by jam jam in the year following soonyoung's departure, he started talking to wonwoo. he seemed nice and easy to talk to, and his coffee making had improved leaps and bounds from the first time.

"you seem tired," wonwoo commented, as he dried some cups. "i know you used to come here a lot with your friend. anything happen?"

"wow, stalker," jihoon tried to joke, but couldn't bring himself to smile. he definitely felt heavier and life had begun to feel a lot more pointless. "i guess you're right. i do feel pretty tired."

"not even coffee helps anymore?" wonwoo said, pushing a newly brewed shot into jihoon's hands. "i'll give this to you on the house. you look like you need it."

"thanks." jihoon gulped it down - the heat searing his throat. it went quiet for a minute, while wonwoo started wiping down the counter. the cafe was empty at this time of day, and the pale orange light of sunset hung the room in shadows. "my friend left for seoul a year ago."

"oof. i can relate," wonwoo smiled at jihoon. it wasn't a huge, cheerful smile like soonyoung's, but it was comforting all the same. "my best friend left too, to pursue modelling."

"do you keep in contact?" jihoon asked.

"not really. his schedule is pretty packed, so he doesn't have time for little old me." wonwoo sounded somewhat sad, but the moment dissipated as he walked away to find more sugar. "you can follow him on instagram if you want. his handle is min9yu_k."

"i'll pass," jihoon laughed. "don't really use instagram."

"to be honest, neither." wonwoo returned, carrying a heavy bag of sugar and carefully pouring some into a container. "i only use it for him."

"i see." it went silent, as jihoon watched wonwoo pour the remaining of the sugar into the last container. "by the way, can i have a latte?"

"of course." wonwoo took to making it immediately, moving with great ease and confidence, frothing the milk and pouring it into the cup as if it were second nature to him.

"you've gotten better," jihoon commented, sipping the latte, which left a strong milkstache along his upper lip.

"i've been here a while now," wonwoo smiled, taking a seat next to jihoon after seeing that there were going to be no new customers any time soon. "it gets boring sometimes. i'd love if you came by more often."

"i might just do that," jihoon held his cup up towards wonwoo in a sort of 'cheers' motion before taking a long gulp. "i'll see you around, wonwoo."

"i'll see you too... uh?" wonwoo hesitated, and jihoon realised he'd never introduced himself before.

"jihoon. i'm lee jihoon."

• • •

SAT, 6:15 PM

Lee Jihoon
> Hey, what's been happening soonyoung

TUE, 11:22 AM

Lee Jihoon
> I'm bored

10:04 PM

Lee Jihoon
> ???
> Are you going to ignore me...
> I made a new friend today - that barista you once said was handsome

11:50 PM

Lee Jihoon
> Ok then
> Hope to hear from you soon
Seen at 11:51 PM